


to speak what's true

by noodletastic



Series: hard truths [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Medicinal Drug Use, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Recreational Drug Use, Teen Angst, Teen Ninjas - Freeform, Teen Romance, many other character cameos, mizuki is an abusive asshole, slowburn kakairu, underage because they're all sixteen-to-eighteen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:40:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 51,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25744474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodletastic/pseuds/noodletastic
Summary: Iruka had spent far too much time in the last week thinking about Hatake Kakashi. He couldn't stop thinking about their embarrassing encounter, or about his sleepy eyes, or about the way his voice had seemed to caress each syllable of Iruka’s name in a wordlessly frustrating way, or the familiar honorific Kakashi had tacked on when it had been just the two of them-Iruka had spent far toolittletime feeling guilty for the hours he spent day dreaming over a boy who was absolutely not his boyfriend.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Mizuki/Umino Iruka
Series: hard truths [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881925
Comments: 64
Kudos: 210





	1. one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please refer to the end note for trigger warning info!

Spring had come in earnest this year, arriving early and bringing with it a wave of muggy heat and the early bloom of trees and plants across the city of Konoha. Gone was the biting winter and the occasional flurry of snow, replaced instead with raining cherry blossoms and warm, sleepy afternoons.

Iruka loved it - or, he would love it, if he could enjoy it properly. Instead of getting to spend the day racing through the woods on well-worn dirt paths, or swimming in the quarry, or laying across a roof, basking in the sun, he was stuck spending his days in class. As someone with a fairly low interest in his studies in general, the sweet temptation of the hot sun was nearly enough to make him cave in to his less admirable qualities.

As such, he made it barely two weeks before sneaking away from his afternoon math class. Usually, he would seek out Anko or Mizuki to join him, but today he slipped away from the crowded halls between classes alone. He didn’t feel like chatting with Anko or making out with Mizuki- he just wanted to sit outside and enjoy the day.

He made his way to the track field, taking care not to hurry and draw the attention of any curious eyes. He made it to the small section of bleachers without interruption and let out an exhilarated sigh, stretching his arms above his head. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face, immediately basking in the soft spring breeze and the narrow streaks of sunlight that cut through the space between the metal seats. He kicked off his sandals and flexed his toes in the grass, tilting his head back to squint at the blue sky just visible from his hideout.

It was only once he settled back on his heels and took a breath that he noticed something out of place. The air carried a lingering, sickly sweet scent that was familiar, but so out of context here, on the school grounds, that it took him a moment to place it; weed, pungent and fresh.

He blinked and looked around quickly, searching for the source and found that he was not, in fact, alone.

Sprawled across the grass was another young man that Iruka vaguely recognized as an upperclassman. He had his head pillowed against his satchel, with one arm tucked beneath his head. His hair was bright silver and messy, half of his face hidden beneath the cover of a worn, pink paperback. And he was already watching Iruka with dark, sleepy eyes that seemed... amused, maybe? Iruka couldn’t quite tell.

Iruka immediately took a step back, rubbing the back of his head. “Oh, shit,” he said. He groaned internally at that eloquent greeting.

“Yo,” the other boy said, and now Iruka knew for a fact that he was at least amused, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a distracting way.

“I didn’t mean to, like- I didn’t know this spot was already claimed, or-”

Those eyes turned up into sweet little half-moons that made Iruka’s pulse pick up, and unfortunately made him keep talking.

“I just wanted to get outside for a little while, you know, enjoy the sunshine, since it still gets dark so early. I didn’t know anyone else would have the same idea, but I guess here you are-” Iruka took a step back and nearly tripped over his own sandals. “Oh, God.”

Those eyes opened again, still crinkled in quiet amusement. “Stay if you like,” he said, voice still muffled behind his book. “As long as you don’t tattle on me.”

“No, of course not- thank you, senpai.” Iruka cut a quick, awkward bow in his direction that made the other boy huff an incredulous little laugh.

“If that’s all cleared up.” He lifted his book again and went back to reading as if nothing had happened at all.

Iruka stared at him for a long moment before shifting to drop his own satchel a few feet away. He picked up his sandals and arranged them carefully out of the way before flopping onto the grass. He tried to recapture his previous mood, flexing his toes against the ground and grazing his hands across the grass, but try as he might, his curiosity over his unexpected companion had taken the magic out of the warm afternoon. 

He caught himself stealing little sideways glances as he stretched. The other boy was wearing beaten up, black boots. One of the soles was beginning to peel away from the bottom, which Iruka found himself inexplicably charmed by. On his next glance he took note of the dark jeans he wore, which were faded around the knee and had small tears, that looked like they had been hard-won rather than bought pre-ripped.

As he twisted to the side to stretch his lower back, his eyes continued up, noticing that he wasn’t wearing a belt and his jeans had slid just far enough down his hips to reveal the dark elastic band of his underwear, which contrasted sharply with the pale, pale skin of his hip. His skin peeked out where his black t-shirt had ridden up against the grass. The inch of stomach was enough to make something warm swoop low in Iruka’s belly. 

He couldn’t quite see what was printed on the front of his shirt as he continued to steal glances, but it looked like it was the logo of some unknown band. Above that- and here, Iruka caught himself staring. Above that, the boy’s entire throat and lower half of his face were hidden beneath a skin-tight black mask. It cut across the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheeks, dipping down to bare his pale ears; both ears boasted a small silver hoop.

Masks had fallen out of fashion years before- before Iruka had even been born. Back when shinobi had still been in high demand, before peace had settled across the Land of Fire and all those principalities beyond it. To see someone wear one, someone so young, was shocking. The only shinobi now were those of ANBU, who still hid their faces, and acted as silent peacekeepers- police, almost. The days of children soldiers had died out in the time of Iruka’s grandparents, and for a school boy to be wearing one, now, could only mean-

“What clan are you?” Iruka blurted, before he could contain himself. He felt his cheeks flare with heat and he looked quickly down at his feet where they were pressed together in the middle of a half-hearted butterfly stretch.

The boy didn’t say anything, and a quick glance confirmed that he hadn’t actually looked away from his novel, either.

“Sorry,” Iruka said quietly. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Hatake,” the boy said, eyes shifting over to him lazily.

“Oh.” Iruka blinked, searching his memory for any details about the Hatake clan.

“Most people ask for a given name before a family name, you know,” Hatake said mildly. He closed his book around his index finger, dropping it to his chest.

Iruka laughed a little, voice cracking around the noise. “Sorry, um- what’s your name?” He was suddenly longing to be in class, the relaxation he had sought out slipping further away every time he opened his stupid mouth.

Those eyes turned into little crescents again and Iruka had to swallow past a lump in his throat. He couldn’t tell if he was truly smiling beneath the mask. “Kakashi,” he said.

“Kakashi,” Iruka repeated, then felt his face heat up again. “Um- Kakashi-senpai,” he corrected himself.

Kakashi arched a delicate silver brow at him. He didn’t speak.

Iruka shifted awkwardly, looking at his feet and then back up as the silence lingered.

“Usually,” Kakashi said finally, “After asking for someone’s name, you introduce yourself.”

As soon as his cheeks had begun to cool, heat flared in them once more, traveling to his ears and down his chest. He hoped Kakashi couldn’t see it too well against his dark complexion. “Oh, God,” he said, hoarse, and looked away again. “Umino Iruka.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Iruka-kun,” he said lightly. Iruka snapped his head up, but Kakashi already had his book back in place, eyes intent upon the pages.

“Iruka-kun…?” he mumbled to himself. Kakashi didn’t say anything, and probably didn’t hear it over the sudden arrival of another young delinquent.

“Iruka!”

Iruka looked up as Mizuki appeared, ducking beneath the bleachers. He had a bandana tied across his forehead today, holding his chin length silver hair away from his face. This morning, Iruka had found it charming, the blue a delightful contrast to his dark eyes. Now, it looked almost silly in comparison to-

Iruka felt a heavy stone of guilt settle in his stomach and immediately straightened up, forcing a bright grin onto his face. “Mizuki!”

Mizuki’s eyes moved across Kakashi quickly, and Iruka saw the moment his smirk turned into a mean little sneer, before he looked away dismissively. He dropped to a crouch in front of Iruka. His sneer morphed into a cocky grin, one hand lightly tapping beneath Iruka’s chin in a typical greeting. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I bailed on class as soon as I realized you weren’t coming.”

Iruka smiled, the guilt in his stomach fading as he focused on Mizuki- on his handsome, familiar features, his wicked eyes. Kakashi had just been a sudden distraction, a shadow of who Mizuki was. That was it- the resemblance between the two had confused Iruka. That was all that feeling had been.

“Sorry,” he said, hand brushing against Mizuki’s arm gently. “I should have grabbed you.”

“You should have.” And then Mizuki leaned in to kiss him, and Iruka let himself melt into it, despite the mild discomfort of knowing that there was another boy just a few feet away.

When Mizuki pulled away, he gave Iruka a solid pat on the cheek. “Who’s your friend?”

Iruka glanced over at Kakashi. He was still reading as if nothing had happened and no one had joined them. “Oh, um. Kakashi-senpai, forgive me, we keep interrupting you.” He looked at Mizuki again, smiling. “He was here when I arrived and let me share his hide-out.”

“How sweet,” Mizuki said, though Iruka recognized the familiar, taunting tone. “Thank you for your generosity, senpai.”

Kakashi’s eyes turned towards Mizuki. He stared, silent, for long enough that the cocky expression on Mizuki’s face began to dissolve to discomfort. Finally, his eyes turned to Iruka and Iruka might have been wrong, but it looked like they softened, just a little. “Iruka-san is welcome here any time,” he said mildly. “I’m grateful for the company.”

 _Iruka-san, now?_ Iruka thought, but before he could respond, Mizuki was shoving his sandals into his hands.

“Come on, let’s go. We’ve still got a little while before our next class.” Mizuki pressed another kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Let’s not waste it.” He winked and Iruka flushed, hurrying to put on his shoes and follow the promise in that look. He grabbed his bag and let Mizuki take his hand, leading him away for a little secret adventure- but he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at Kakashi as they walked away.

It may have been his imagination, but he thought Kakashi was looking at him, too.

\---

Another week passed before Iruka once again gave in to the temptation to skip out on a lesson. This time, he snuck away before his history lesson, an hour earlier than before. He considered searching for a different place to hide away, but curiosity pulled him back to the small rack of bleachers beside the track field.

He had spent far too much time in the last week thinking about Kakashi. He had resisted the urge to look into his family name, feeling oddly like it would be a betrayal of trust, even though he’d made no such promises to Kakashi, and everything he would find on the various Konoha clan histories was public record. But that hadn’t stopped him from thinking about their embarrassing encounter, or about his sleepy eyes, or about the way his voice had seemed to caress each syllable of Iruka’s name in a wordlessly frustrating way, or the familiar honorific Kakashi had tacked on when it had been just the two of them-

Iruka had spent far too _little_ time feeling guilty for the hours he spent day-dreaming over a boy who was absolutely not his boyfriend.

He slid beneath the bleachers, desperately hoping to see Kakashi sprawled across the grass again. This time he would be _cool_ , not awkward and embarrassing and-

And there was no one there. Iruka stared at the empty patch of grass and sighed. It served him right, he supposed, for seeking out- what? Really, he thought, he hadn’t been doing anything wrong. He dropped his bag, kicked off his sandals, and tugged the elastic from his hair, ruffling it out of the awkward tangles from his ponytail. He had just been- curious. He had only hoped to see Kakashi again because Kakashi was a mystery, not because he- whatever.

He leaned over at the waist with a sigh, pressing his hands into the grass and relaxing into the gentle stretch. Of all the things that made Iruka hate school, the worst was the limited movement - he got stiff when he had to sit all day. His body needed to _move_. He shifted through a few sun salutations, carefully avoiding knocking his hands into the beams above his head. When his lower back felt loose and his blood was beginning to hum pleasantly through his body, he shifted into downward dog and then leaned back into child’s pose. He stretched his arms across the ground and breathed deep, mind slowly shifting down into a calm hum. Just as he was sinking fully into a comfortable meditation, a voice jarred him back to reality.

“You beat me,” it said, and Iruka felt his face flush. He recognized that voice immediately; he’d been replaying it’s words in his head for days.

“Kakashi-senpai!” He sat up quickly, looking up at the other teen. He looked the same as last week, although his black t-shirt had been replaced by a bright magenta Konoha Tigers t-shirt with ripped off sleeves. It made his arms look-

“Yo.” He lifted one hand, waving his fingers at Iruka. His eyes curved closed.

“I didn’t know if you’d be here today.” He shifted up to sit criss-cross, scratching one bare knee.

One of those brows arched at him, before Kakashi moved to drop his bag, today just a hair closer to Iruka’s side. “Did you come looking for me?”

“Oh! Ah…” Iruka huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head as he watched Kakashi. He didn’t look much like Mizuki at all, actually. He was taller than Mizuki, and whipcord thin compared to Mizuki’s broad, strong shoulders. The only real similarity between the two was their similar hair color, but still, Kakashi’s seemed far more shiny-

“Is that a yes?” Kakashi melted to the ground beside him, flipping open his bag.

“What?” Iruka blinked and shook his head. “Sorry- um, no. I thought you might be here, so I figured I might see you, but I… like here too,” he finished, somewhat lamely.

Kakashi hummed and pulled a cigarette pack from his bag. Iruka wrinkled his nose at it, then blinked when Kakashi opened it to reveal a small plastic packet of weed and a white one-hitter.

Iruka snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “I thought I smelled that the other day!”

“Are you gonna tattle now?” Kakashi asked mildly, carefully packing the tiny end of his one-hitter.

“No way!” Iruka laughed. He gathered up his hair, dragging it back into a messy, high ponytail.

“So that’s why you came back?” Kakashi shot him a look.

Iruka blinked, tilting his head. “For your weed?”

“Yeah.” Kakashi sat back, twirling an orange lighter along the back of his fingers. Iruka watched for a moment, mesmerized, before looking up at him again with a grin.

“No way,” Iruka repeated. “I would never ask for you to share. I don’t think I can do it at school anyway.”

Kakashi gave him an appraising look. “Alright,” he said finally. He turned his head away from Iruka and Iruka realized with a start he was pulling his mask down to smoke. He whipped his head the other way to give him some privacy, picking at the grass beside his leg. He heard the lighter, and after a moment he could smell it, too.

“I’m decent,” Kakashi said after a moment, voice coming out a hair huskier than before.

Iruka looked over again, smiling a bit to himself when he noticed how much sleepier Kakashi’s eyes had grown in the last few seconds. “Cool,” he said.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Kakashi repacked the one-hitter before laying back against his bag, gazing up at the bleachers. Iruka shifted down to follow his example, digging his toes into the soft earth.

“Ever try?” Kakashi asked.

“Hm?” Iruka turned his head. Kakashi had a hand extended with the lighter and one-hitter, brow arched.

“Smoking at school.”

Iruka looked at his hand, then back up to his eyes. “I get weird,” he said.

Kakashi tipped his head, before graciously retracting his hand. “I’m a bad influence. My deepest apologies, kohai.”

Iruka sputtered out a laugh, flopping his hands over his stomach. “Shut up.”

“It’s true,” he continued. “I’ve tried to corrupt one of my precious kohai. I should be ashamed of myself.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Iruka said firmly, biting back a smile.

“I’m supposed to be setting an example.”

“I wouldn’t follow it anyway.” Iruka huffed another laugh, turning his head up to look at the sky again. They sank back into a comfortable silence and Iruka felt like he was buzzing, contentment coursing through him.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Kakashi asked after a while.

Iruka tensed, peeking over out of the corner of his eye. “Why?”

Kakashi didn’t move, eyes tracking a slow-moving cloud. “Curious. No offense.”

Iruka narrowed his eyes. “He has science this hour. He’s bad at it, I didn’t want to distract him.”

Kakashi huffed a laugh and said nothing.

“What?” Iruka sat up a little bit. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing.”

“Do you have, like, a problem with me having a boyfriend?” Iruka glared, working himself up quickly to the offensive.

Kakashi’s eyes cut over to him, corners crinkled endearingly. “Relax. I don’t.”

Iruka clenched his fists. “Then what are you laughing at?”

“Maa, nothing. Just thinking about how much he wouldn’t like you saying that.”

Iruka felt a cool twist of dread in his stomach. Mizuki _wouldn’t_ like that he’d said that. It would embarrass him, and he was always saying how much Iruka embarrassed him, like that-

He frowned, sinking back into the grass. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Don’t tell him.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

Silence descended again. This time, a bell ringing in the distance broke it, and Iruka shifted upright slowly.

“Gotta get back,” Iruka said, pulling on his sandals. He glanced at Kakashi. “Don’t you have class?”

Kakashi pulled his book from his bag, folding it open. “Yes,” he agreed.

Iruka shook his head and stood, sliding his bag over his chest. “Do you do this every day?”

“Why?” Kakashi looked up at him, brow arching. “Figuring out when to come visit me next?”

Outrageously, this made Iruka’s cheeks burn. “No!”

Kakashi’s mask somehow didn’t hide his smirk. “Okay,” he agreed.

“I have to go.” He turned away. “See you later, Kakashi-senpai.”

“Later, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka’s feet stuttered briefly to a halt before he hurried off, grinning to himself.

\---

Anko and Mizuki beat Iruka to their class. He slid into his seat between them moments before the final bell rang, subtly trying to catch his breath. Anko was twisted around in her desk to flirt with Izumo, who looked very much like he didn’t want to be there.

“Anko told me you missed history,” Mizuki commented. He already had his book out and flipped open on his desk.

Iruka had absolutely forgotten that Anko was in his history section and had also forgotten that she had a big fucking mouth. He tried to wipe a smear of dirt away from his calf discreetly. “Oh, yeah. I had to finish my homework, so I just skipped to go do it outside.”

Mizuki looked up at him, eyes wicked- but not in the way Iruka liked. Instead of mischievous, his eyes were bitter, his mouth twisted into an ugly little smile. “Did Hatake-senpai help you?”

“What?” Iruka’s brow crinkled. “What are you talking about?”

“You totally did go hang out with him again.” Mizuki huffed an incredulous little laugh. “What the fuck, Iruka? That’s messed up.”

Iruka’s stomach dropped. Did Mizuki know he kind of had, maybe, just a little crush on Kakashi? It wasn’t even a crush, not really just a- curiosity. And how did he know? Did he think Iruka was cheating on him? Iruka would never do that, ever. If anything, Kakashi was barely an acquaintance-

“I’m serious.” Mizuki reached over, catching Iruka’s wrist. His hold was a little too tight, tight enough to be uncomfortable.

“Ow,” Iruka muttered, tugging at his wrist just a little bit. Mizuki didn’t ease up, grip going tighter instead. Iruka felt it compress his bone and let out a sharp breath.

“Hatake is a weirdo,” Mizuki said firmly. “Everyone says so. He’s from one of those old clans, where they still live the old way. I heard he killed a guy when he was five. He’s a killer.”

Iruka’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to ask a question, but Tobirama-sensei cut him off, beginning the day’s lesson. Mizuki released his arm and slumped back in his desk with a scowl twisting his lips. Iruka pulled his arm into his lap, tenderly rubbing his wrist.

He didn’t hear a word Tobirama-sensei said for the whole lesson.

\---

If Mizuki had hoped to douse Iruka’s curiosity, he had failed spectacularly. If anything, it had redoubled his fascination with his new friend. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kakashi for the rest of the day, through his classes, his study session- even while they were making out in Mizuki’s bedroom that afternoon, Iruka was reminded of Kakashi by the punishing way Mizuki bit hickeys into his throat. Like the bruise forming on his wrist, Iruka knew the bruises Mizuki was leaving on his neck were punishment for hanging out with Kakashi again.

On the brink of orgasm, as Mizuki dug his teeth into the meat of his shoulder, Iruka wondered what Kakashi’s mouth looked like and how different from Mizuki’s it would feel. It was enough to send him gasping over the edge in Mizuki’s grip.

\---

Iruka wasn’t sure why he went to the bleachers the very next day. If Mizuki had been telling the truth, and Kakashi really was part of one of those strict, secretive, truly shinobi families, that meant he was incredibly dangerous. Definitely too dangerous to be around alone, but if that was true, why would he have been sent to school? Every other baby-shinobi Iruka had ever heard humors about was strictly homeschooled, so they could be consistently training to be the next generation of ANBU. Only civilian clan children attended school, they said.

But just those questions were enough to propel him into another encounter, because Iruka truly hated nothing, _nothing_ more than not knowing secrets.

Instead of waiting until the afternoon to skip a class, Iruka went straight to the bleachers on his lunch break. Anko and Mizuki had a separate lunch, fortunately, so Iruka was free to go where he wanted, no questions asked. He didn’t really think Kakashi would be there so early, but he figured he could leave a note, maybe his phone number, and maybe Kakashi would text him-

Instead, he found that Kakashi was, in fact, there, and for once he was not alone. Though he’d never seen Kakashi around before, he immediately recognized the rest of the upperclassmen sitting with him. To his right was Maito Gai, who it was impossible not to know, from his boisterous yelling to his ridiculous, consistently green wardrobe - and of course, his record-breaking number of first place track competitions. Across from Kakashi was Nohara Rin, who was well known as someone from one of few clans who still allowed their children to have customary tattoos and as one of the smartest students of her class. She led almost every underclassman science study session. The final person in the circle was Uchiha Obito- or, at least, Iruka was pretty sure it was Obito. There were so many Uchiha in Konoha that he wasn’t actually sure, he just knew this Uchiha wasn’t Itachi (who was Iruka’s age mate, but in the same class as Kakashi) and that narrowed things down to maybe-

“Iruka-kohai.” Kakashi interrupted his train of thought, and he realized that everyone in the circle was staring up at him. “How may we help you?”

Iruka immediately felt himself flush, and he absolutely _had_ to stop doing that around Kakashi. Iruka was not a shy person! It was honestly a little embarrassing, at this point. “Oh, um-” He shifted awkwardly. “I was just- coming to eat. I eat here sometimes.”

Kakashi arched a brow. “Do you?”

Iruka shifted, jutting his chin out stubbornly. “I do,” he lied.

“I dunno, I’ve never seen him around here before,” maybe-Obito said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “Rin?”

“Not at lunch.” She smiled softly. “Hello, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka’s manners got the best of him, and he cut her a quick bow. “Hello, Rin-senpai.”

“I have certainly never seen this young man!” Gai exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He stuck his hand out. “Hello! Maito Gai! it is truly a Pleasure to meet you!”

Iruka leaned back a little, shaking his hand carefully. “Uh- yeah. Umino Iruka.” He bowed awkwardly, while still trying to maintain a bit of distance from the sudden- exuberance. He glanced at Kakashi, who looked incredibly amused. Well, as amused as he ever looked.

“Please! Join us for lunch!” Gai ushered him forward, sticking Iruka between himself and Kakashi. Iruka sat awkwardly, holding his bag in his lap.

“We always eat here,” Kakashi said quietly. What he didn’t say was that he knew Iruka had never eaten here before, but Iruka heard that loud and clear.

And now he was blushing again. He looked down, busying himself by pulling out his lunch. He quietly mumbled his gratitude over his meal before he began eating.

“Iruka-kun, how do you know Kakashi-kun?” Rin asked once everyone had settled again.

“Um-” He swallowed a mouthful of rice. “We both, um-”

“He’s a delinquent like me,” Kakashi drawled. “We met last week when we both skipped fifth.” He took a sip of water through his mask, which honestly looked very silly.

Iruka laughed a little at the clear disappointment on Rin’s face. “Only every once and awhile,” he tried to soothe. “I promise.”

“It should be never,” she chastised. “I’m sorry Kakashi-kun is encouraging that. I hope that’s all he’s encouraging.” She gave her friend a narrow look, and Kakashi tilted his head back to look casually at the sky.

“It is,” Iruka said firmly. “He’s a perfect gentleman.”

And that, he realized, sounded horribly inappropriate. Gai and Obito both seemed to miss the unintentional innuendo, already in the middle of a very loud side conversation. Rin, though, looked very curious. “Really,” she said.

“Rin,” Kakashi said, his voice almost sing-song. Apparently that was some sort of sign for Rin to back off, because she leaned back and held up her hands, before turning to join Obito and Gai’s conversation.

Iruka ate quietly, half-listening to the other half of their little group, and half-distracted over the very small place where his bare knee was pressed against Kakashi’s.

“Surely you weren’t looking for me again already,” Kakashi murmured after a while, nearly drowned out by the rest of the circle.

Iruka shook his head quickly. “No, um- I wasn’t, and I wasn’t yesterday-”

Kakashi was smiling at him again.

He clamped his mouth shut, and tried to read something on his face beyond polite amusement. Finally he gave up and huffed a sigh. “Fine.”

“Aha! I knew it.” Kakashi leaned an elbow on his knee, and his chin against his fist, putting himself just a hair closer to Iruka. “What can I do for you?”

Iruka shook his head, fiddling with his chopsticks. “No, it’s nothing, just-” He glanced away. “Um. Mizuki just figured out I’d seen you again yesterday. And kind of said some- weird stuff. About you.”

Kakashi’s expression changed, just barely, but enough for Iruka to recognize that something about that statement had hit him wrong. “Did he?”

Iruka rubbed his neck awkwardly, eyes dropping to where their knees were touching. “Just stupid stuff. About your clan, and how it’s- older.” He hoped that conveyed his message well enough.

Apparently it did. Kakashi sat up properly again, looking away. “He’s probably right.”

“He said some other, ah. Weird stuff about you, too.”

Kakashi glanced over, catching his eye. “It’s probably all right.”

Iruka couldn’t control the shocked look that flashed across his face. He looked down quickly, picking at a spare thread on the edge of his shorts. It meant his fingers were close enough to brush Kakashi’s knee. That was hard to ignore. “Really?”

“Maybe,” Kakashi muttered. He glanced up to see that Kakashi was watching his hand, too.

“He told me I shouldn’t hang out with you,” he added impulsively.

Kakashi looked up at him again, and it made his breath catch in his chest. “Probably shouldn’t,” he agreed, and then his attention was pulled away by Obito, who was loudly demanding- something. Iruka missed it, too caught up in cautiously sneaking glances at Kakashi for the rest of the short lunch break.

When the bell rang in the distance and they all gathered up their things to return to class, Kakashi hung back beside Iruka. Iruka packed away all of his things before looking at him curiously, having expected him to hurry off with his friends.

Kakashi gave his neck a pointed look, then lifted a brow. It took Iruka a moment to realize he was indicating the hickeys his t-shirt didn’t quite hide. Iruka blushed and quickly covered them with a hand. “Mizuki?” Kakashi asked, and for some reason, Iruka felt guilty when he nodded.

“Shut up,” he commanded, half-heartedly. He turned to walk away and came to an abrupt stop when Kakashi grabbed his hand. He let go immediately, fingers ghosting up his arm to gently brush against the purple bruising around his wrist.

“Mizuki?” Kakashi asked again, and when Iruka met his eye, he felt that shame burn even deeper. He tugged his arm away, glowering.

“Shut up,” he said again, and hurried off for his class without looking back.

\---

Iruka had known Mizuki since they were in diapers. Their parents had lived next door to each other in the same apartment complex when they were born, and they had often had playdates. They had grown up side-by-side, learning to walk together, ride bikes together, and eventually, cope with the loss of their parents together.

Their parents had gone out together one night, and not one of them had returned home. It was a car accident, apparently. Mizuki’s mother had been driving. They had all been drunk. It wasn’t good. They had been together at their babysitter’s when they had gotten the news, and for a while they had been dorm mates at Konoha’s orphanage.

But Iruka was adopted within the first two weeks, brought into the home of Kamikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, and their baby son. Kushina had worked with his mother, and had immediately stepped in. Mizuki had spent three years at the orphanage, before eventually being placed into a foster home at fourteen. But Iruka had always kept up with Mizuki, sticking by his side even when Mizuki lashed out. Iruka knew why he did it. The same deep hurt that made Mizuki lash out at him was what spurred Iruka to commit prank after prank. They were both begging for attention, desperately looking to escape their feelings. And he loved Mizuki, more than he loved absolutely anyone else. So he stayed.

Which is why when they were fourteen, Iruka agreed to go out with him. And why Iruka had spent the last two years with him sternly convincing himself that he was _in_ love with Mizuki. Mizuki loved him, he knew that, even when Mizuki was mean or possessive or dismissive. That wasn’t who Mizuki was, it was just Mizuki’s hurt making itself known, and Iruka was determined to stay by his side and help him through that hurt. That’s what loving someone was.

Even when sometimes he had to carefully hide bruises beneath his clothes. No one else needed to know how much Mizuki was hurting.

\---

Iruka didn’t seek Kakashi out again. He didn’t skip another class, carefully funneling his attention back to Mizuki, where it belonged. Who cared if Kakashi was a mystery? Iruka didn’t need to solve him.

But he would see him sometimes in the hallways. Meeting Kakashi seemed to make him appear everywhere. He was always in the halls, near Obito or Rin, and less often Gai. Iruka wasn’t sure how he’d missed him before, when now it seemed he was there every time Iruka looked up.

It made it upsettingly hard to stop thinking about him, no matter what Iruka tried. But slowly, he got used to it, and made himself stop looking for Kakashi around every corner.

So it was a bit of a shock to see Kakashi on his doorstep on Friday night, barely two weeks after their awkward lunch.

Iruka had been left home for the night to babysit Naruto and his friend Sasuke. Minato and Kushina apparently had dinner plans with the other boy’s parents, and had offered Iruka up as tribute. Iruka didn’t really mind. He was happy to spend a night watching over his little brother, since that actually meant a night eating junk food and watching cartoons. They were surprisingly easy to distract with a movie, anyway, and by eight-thirty both six-year-olds were nearly asleep on the couch.

A knock signaled the expected arrival of Itachi, but instead when Iruka answered, Obito stood at his door with Kakashi slouched behind him. They were both dressed casually, in sweatpants and t-shirts, as if they’d rolled out of bed minutes before. On the bright side, they looked as surprised to see him as he was to see them.

“Iruka-kun!” Obito exclaimed, blinking at him. “You’re not an Uzumaki!” His confusion was obvious, and a little insulting.

Iruka shifted awkwardly in the doorway, glowering. “I’m adopted,” he snapped.

“Oh- _oh_.” Obito had the good grace to look embarrassed, and Iruka had a hard time staying mad when the other boy’s cheeks colored. “Um, sorry- Itachi was supposed to come, but he’s hanging out with Shisui, and I said I would come pick up Sasuke and take him back to the compound-”

Iruka felt himself smiling without permission. “It’s okay,” he said quickly, cutting Obito off half-way through his explanation. “I’ll just get Sasuke for you?”

Obito’s shoulders sagged in relief. “That would be great.”

Iruka glanced over his shoulder and looked away quickly when he caught Kakashi already staring at him- but of course he was staring, where else would he be looking? Iruka tugged awkwardly at the bottom of his too-short shirt anyway.

“I’ll be right back-”

“Ah, actually- could I use your restroom?” Obito rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“I told you to go before we left the house,” Kakashi said. Obito shot him a betrayed look.

Iruka wanted very much to say no, since he was rapidly realizing that a cut-off band shirt and a pair of Minato’s oversized pajamas pants were the absolute last thing he wanted Kakashi to see him in, but manners once again won out.

“Come in.” Iruka pushed the door open and turned to lead the way. “It’s the first door on the right.”

He heard them follow him inside, the clatter of their shoes coming off, and the quiet click of the door shutting. Iruka hurried ahead of them to the living room, suddenly mortified to reveal the mess that had been created there - particularly the nail polish Iruka certainly hadn’t been in the middle of applying to his toes.

Iruka grabbed the remote and stopped the movie to mild, sleepy complaints from his charges. “Sorry, sorry.” He dropped the remote and ruffled both boys' hair, receiving a disgruntled huff (Sasuke) and an exaggerated shriek (Naruto) in response.

“Is Itachi-nii-san here?” Sasuke mumbled. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked over Iruka’s shoulder. Iruka glanced back too, somewhat surprised to see that Kakashi had followed him. Sasuke’s face immediately collapsed into a scowl. “You,” he grumbled.

Kakashi’s eyes curved and he did that same little finger-wave Iruka remembered. “Yo, Sasuke-chan!”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Sasuke-chan,” Naruto crooned, snickering in delight.

“Shut up, stupid!” Sasuke snapped, shoving Naruto. Naruto immediately shoved him back and they tumbled to the floor, wrestling in their tangle of blankets. Iruka just sighed, putting his hands on his hips.

“Do they do this a lot?”

Iruka didn’t jump at the sudden voice in his ear, but it was a close thing. Kakashi was right beside him, close enough that Iruka could feel the heat radiating from his body. Kakashi was a few inches taller than him from up close, and Iruka found himself cursing and praising his delayed growth spurt in equal measure. 

“Yeah,” he managed, swallowing. He tugged at the edge of his shirt, twisting his feet casually to hide his toes beneath the edge of the nearest blanket. “Almost constantly.”

Kakashi laughed quietly, and Iruka felt his breath against his neck.

Obito chose that moment to enter, drying his hands on the front of his pants. “Sasuke-chan!” he declared, somewhat bereft. “Stop fighting, you’re embarrassing me!”

Sasuke immediately stopped his childish brawl to look up at Obito. Naruto was smooshing his hand against Sasuke’s face, which the other boy ignored. “I knew he was with you,” Sasuke said sullenly, and made a disgruntled noise when Obito hauled him off of his friend and set him back on his feet.

“You love me,” Obito said cheerfully. “Get your stuff together, Itachi will kill me if you miss bedtime.”

Sasuke glowered at him. “Then we’ll miss bed time,” he declared gravely. Iruka had to slap a hand over his mouth to smother a laugh at the dismayed face that Obito made in response.

Naruto hopped to his feet and grabbed Sasuke’s hand, dragging him to the stairs. “Come on, your bag is in my room!”

“Naruto-”

The boys clamored up the stairs, leaving the three teenagers to stand in a momentary, awkward silence.

“So,” Iruka said after a moment. “You’re Sasuke’s…?”

“Cousin,” Obito clarified, tucking his hands into his pockets. “But we both live in the main house, so he’s kind of like my little brother.”

“Right.” Iruka nodded, even though he didn’t really get it at all. The large clans were a bit of a mystery to him, in that respect. There seemed to be hundreds of cousins, and sometimes they dated? But it wasn’t really clear how that all worked.

“I didn’t know you were the kid Minato-san and Kushina-san adopted a few years ago.” Obito smiled kindly, and he managed to say it without any sort of pity. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before.”

“I only really come over for dinners,” Iruka said helpfully.

“You’ve been in my house and we’ve never met!” Obito shook his head. “Even crazier!”

Iruka felt his shoulders loosen a little, some of the awkward tension in the air dissolving under Obito’s friendly demeanor. “Well, now I’ll know to come find you. Itachi refuses to give me a tour, he’s always too busy talking politics with all the adults.”

Obito wrinkled his nose. “He does that. He’s sixteen going on eighty.”

Iruka laughed and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Naruto and Sasuke tumbling back down the stairs.

“He’s ready!” Naruto declared. “Since I’m Hokage tonight, I’ve given Sasuke an important mission to make Itachi-nii-chan not kill you. It’s an x-rank mission.”

“X-rank?” Kakashi repeated.

“It is very important,” Naruto confirmed.

“I see,” Kakashi said solemnly. “I’ll help him complete it.”

Naruto scooted close to Kakashi, squinting up at him. “Are you sure?”

Iruka could see the threat of a smile in Kakashi’s eye, but he dipped his head to Naruto in a lazy bow. “Yes, Hokage-sama,” he intoned.

Naruto’s entire being lit up, face splitting in a wide grin. “I’m Naruto!” he declared, sticking out his hand to Kakashi. Kakashi shook it formally, his hand big enough to completely engulf Naruto’s.

“I’m Kakashi. Pleasure to meet you, Naruto-kun.”

“I can’t complete my mission if I don’t put on my shoes,” Sasuke interrupted sullenly, obviously stung that Naruto’s attention had been stolen away.

Naruto immediately turned his attention back to his friend, oblivious to his childish manipulation. “I know how to do shoes! Come on!” He grabbed Sasuke’s hand, dragging him to the door. Obito followed them, carrying Sasuke’s small backpack over his shoulder.

“He wants to be a ninja?” Kakashi hadn’t moved and when Iruka looked up from where he’d been watching the children, Kakashi’s dark eyes were already on him.

Iruka tugged on his shirt again before answering. “Yeah. All of his story books are about shinobi. His great-grandpa was a famous shinobi in the last big war, I think.”

Kakashi hummed, and didn’t look away from him. “Are you scared of shinobi?”

“I mean-” Iruka frowned, crossing his arms. “I love ANBU. I appreciate what they do for our community, and our country.”

“That’s not really an answer, is it?” Kakashi’s eyes curved.

Iruka huffed, looking away from him. “Shinobi are- cool,” he grumbled. “But of course they’re scary. They’re supposed to be.”

Kakashi hummed again, and Iruka dared to take a glance. His smile was gone, but his eyes were warm, still watching Iruka with a twinkle of interest. Iruka dropped his eyes to the floor.

“The bleachers have been lonely lately,” Kakashi said after a moment. “You should come visit them again, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka looked up quickly, but Kakashi was already headed towards the door. Iruka followed him automatically, joining Naruto at the door. As the other three left, Naruto yelled goodbye to each of them - “Bye, Obito-nii-san! Bye Kakashi-nii-san! Bye, Sasuke!” - and Iruka watched Kakashi’s back disappear beyond their small garden wall.

\---

Iruka didn’t tell Mizuki about Kakashi and Obito’s surprise visit. The secret burned in his belly, a constant fear that Mizuki would find out somehow, that he’d be mad at him, even though it wasn’t Iruka’s fault-

He didn’t tell him, and hoped he wouldn’t find out. Much like he hoped Mizuki wouldn’t find out that he once again snuck off to the bleachers at lunch the following Monday.

When he arrived, there was once again a small group of upperclassmen gathered in the shade, though this time Gai was missing and Shiranui Genma was in his place. Iruka paused just beyond the shade, face heating up just a bit; he had been nurturing a bit of a crush on Genma for years, never admitting that watching Genma run was the only reason he was an avid fan of the school’s soccer team. So of course, Genma was the first to notice him. Genma caught sight of him and arched a brow, chewing on his signature tooth-pick.

“Well, well. We have a guest,” Genma announced. The rest of the group looked up at him, Obito and Rin calling out an immediate happy greeting. Kakashi didn’t speak, but his eyes once again had that soft, warm crinkle at the corners.

“Hi,” he greeted, holding up a hand awkwardly. “Is it okay if I-?”

“Yeah!” Obito scooted closer to Rin, patting the now-empty space between himself and Kakashi. “The more the merrier.”

Iruka smiled and took the offered space, carefully making sure that this time, his knee didn’t meet Kakashi’s. If he was doing this, there needed to be some firm rules. And those rules included not indulging whatever stupid- fascination he had with Kakashi beyond friendship.

“Isn’t he cute as a bug?” Genma said calmly, leaning back on one hand.

“Genma!” Rin snapped, reaching over to slap his knee. Iruka felt like his hair was liable to catch on fire, his cheeks had gone so hot, so fast. Maybe coming to lunch had been an absolutely terrible idea.

“What?” Genma arched a brow, and looked at Iruka with a crooked grin. “He is.”

“He’s taken,” Kakashi cut in, before Iruka even had a chance to speak.

“Why, _Kakashi-kun_ ,” Genma said, both brows shooting up. “What a surprise-”

“My boyfriend’s name is Mizuki,” Iruka blurted. Genma’s eyes returned to him, shining with amusement.

Why did he say that? Why did he clarify that? Clearly Genma knew that Kakashi hadn’t been saying- he’d just been _joking_ and-

“Eat up,” Kakashi said, before Iruka could manage to entirely spin himself out. At some point, Kakashi had managed to snag Iruka’s lunch box from his bag, and was now pointedly holding it beneath his nose. Iruka took it quickly, grateful for the distraction. He very carefully didn’t look at anyone else in the circle, and opened his lunch.

“Genma,” Rin said casually, “What were you saying about Tobirama-sensei?”

“Oh yeah.” Genma snapped his fingers. “He was telling me that there’s probably going to be an opening in his brother’s office. He thinks I’d be well suited to it, after graduation.”

Iruka looked up through his lashes, interest peaked. Tobirama-sensei’s brother was the Hokage. These days, the kages of each nation were the only known shinobi, who didn’t hide their faces and were both the political leaders of their respective hidden village, and of the military strength in each country. The Hokage’s office was notoriously staffed almost exclusively by ANBU. The only exceptions were the record keepers and city-workers, but Genma didn’t seem like he’d be suited to that. Of course, he seemed even less likely to be suited to ANBU. He wasn’t even from one of the noble families, and even though sometimes people from civilian families were selected for ANBU-

“You came,” Kakashi murmured, successfully distracting Iruka from Genma’s steady voice. Iruka looked over at him, tilting his head. Kakashi’s eyes were closed in a smile again, and Iruka felt himself return the smile without even thinking about it.

“You said the bleachers were lonely,” Iruka said quietly. “And I do like the bleachers, so. I wanted to make sure I paid them a visit.” He felt his cheeks go warm, but not fire-hot. Guilt began to turn in his belly again. He was flirting. He knew he was flirting, but- but he wanted to flirt.

“What a kind friend,” Kakashi said mildly, but still he was smiling.

\---

Spring crawled towards summer, and with it, the sun grew hotter. It had moved from comfortable to somewhat stifling, but Iruka found he didn’t mind as long as he could sit in the shade and feel the breeze.

Iruka had spent the last two weeks worth of lunches tucked under the bleachers with Kakashi and his friends. Most days, Obito and Rin were there, and the more time Iruka spent around them, the more clear it became that they were more than friends. They didn’t kiss or really exhibit any public displays of affection. Obito never broadcast his possession of her with any kind of pointed touch, and never glowered at his friends if they gave her a friendly push or pat. Instead, Iruka had noticed how they looked at each other with a clear affection, and how often Rin would bring him lunch or how whenever they left, Obito always waited to make sure Rin was at his side.

It was really nice. It reminded him of Minato and Kushina, and of his parents before them.

Some days Gai was there, and Iruka quickly realized that despite his bluster, Gai was perhaps the kindest person Iruka had ever met. A cruel word never passed his lips, and more than once Gai enthusiastically helped Iruka on over-due homework - even though Gai seemed to have as little idea how to do it as he did, and Rin never failed to step in and help them both cross the finish line.

Other days, Genma would reappear, with his wicked smile and casually underhanded innuendo that never failed to make Iruka blush. Iruka was sure that was the point of it, too, but Iruka couldn’t quite avoid falling for it every time. It reminded him a little bit of Mizuki’s usual jokes, actually, but they never quite managed to truly embarrass Iruka. Instead of quiet shame, the jokes only managed to make him stutter and laugh.

Ebisu showed up once, on a day with both Gai and Genma, and Iruka spent the entire lunch trying to figure out how Gai and Genma were somehow incredibly close with the stuffy young man who was very, very insistent that Iruka refer to him as Ebisu-senpai. On another day, Itachi joined them, which was far, far more pleasant. They spent their lunch exchanging stories about Sasuke and Naruto.

Of course, ever present, was Kakashi. After two days, Kakashi had silently begun leaving a space open for Iruka at his side. He had always finished his lunch by the time Iruka arrived, stealing any opportunity for Iruka to get a glimpse of his face, but Iruka found he didn’t really mind. Getting to see Kakashi with his friends was an excellent consolation prize. With Obito, he bickered in a practiced way, like one would with a brother. Rin seemed to hold his highest regard; he seemed to listen to her above anyone else in their circle. 

Gai seemed to have declared himself Kakashi’s Eternal Rival several years ago, which apparently translated into constantly challenging him to elaborate competitions, all of which Kakashi rejected with fond exasperation. Genma and Kakashi seemed to chat almost exclusively in some sort of code that Iruka hadn’t quite cracked, but he was pretty sure it was at least partially to do with him; and he had noted that while Genma’s innuendo and teasing flirtation amused him, it seemed to be one of very few things that could irritate Kakashi.

Iruka liked that very much.

At some point every day, Iruka found himself in one-on-one conversation with Kakashi. Almost always it was at the end of their break, when Kakashi would shift his attention solely to Iruka and open with some kind of non-sequitur (“Have you ever been lost on the road of life?”; “What’s it like to have a little brother?”) that led into a short conversation before the bell called them all - well, all but Kakashi - back to class.

These conversations, more than anything, were what kept Iruka coming back day after day; even if he could feel the guilt of keeping such a big secret from Mizuki growing larger and larger in his stomach. His lunch dates with his new friends had been making him truly happy - happier than he had been in quite some time - and even if Iruka didn’t mention it, he knew Mizuki could see it in his demeanor. Just that was enough to goad Mizuki’s ire. Every thoughtless smile earned him a harsh pinches to his ribs that left behind finger-prints, or deep bites that throbbed for days, and once a pair of matching bruises on his lower arms from where Mizuki had restrained him against the bed, demanding to know how he could be so happy, why _he_ got be happy-

This wasn’t Mizuki. This was Mizuki’s pain leaking out, and Iruka would happily help him carry such a heavy burden. He loved him; that’s what love was. Sharing pain.

“Wear long sleeves until those are gone,” Mizuki had ordered quietly in the sullen after-glow of their fight-turned-sex. Iruka had just nodded.

The next day he wore a hoodie with a pair of olive shorts, and it made him unhappy for many reasons, including that it was far, far too hot for long sleeves. He hadn’t said much beyond greetings since arriving for lunch, and had spent his time eating his lunch methodically and trying to soak in the pleasant conversation of his secret friends.

“Alright, Iruka-kun,” Genma said abruptly. “It’s making me sweat just to look at you. What’s with the parka?”

Iruka lifted his head, blinking over at Genma slowly. “Huh?”

Genma reached over to grasp Iruka’s arm, waving it back and forth teasingly. “Aren’t you hot in this?”

Iruka turned his head away quickly, gritting his teeth against a surge of pain as Genma unknowingly gripped the fresh bruise. Nausea turned his stomach as, for just a moment, he was thrown back to the night before, to Mizuki’s unbridled anger. He tucked his chin, hoping that everyone would assume he was just once again hiding his blush. He forced out an awkward laugh, pulling his arm away from Genma’s casual grip. “No, no. I’m just feeling a little under the weather. I might have a fever.”

“A fever!” Gai exclaimed, leaning forward. “Oh, Iruka-kun, are you unwell? It’s the Springtime of your Youth! There’s no time for the common cold!”

Iruka managed to school his face back into a cheerful smile, waving Gai off. “No, no, I’m fine. Just allergies, I think. I’m not sick.” He turned back to Genma, smile going a little sheepish. “Is it ugly?” He plucked the front of his shirt shyly, glancing at him through his lashes.

Genma fell for the bait immediately, smirking at him. He reached up and tugged on one of the draw strings tied at the base of Iruka’s throat. “Of course not. Everything is cute on you, Iruka-kun. I could just eat you up.”

Iruka smiled, relief lifting the weight off his chest. No one had noticed his wince, not even Rin with her sharp eyes. She was already busy chastising Genma for his inappropriate comments, so thoroughly that Obito was nearly crying with laughter.

The conversation moved on and Iruka finished his lunch with a slightly lighter heart. He had already packed his things away when Kakashi leaned over today. He blinked, surprised, when one of Kakashi’s cool hands pressed against his forehead, and then his cheek.

“Kakashi-senpai?” he said, meeting his eyes curiously.

“No fever, it seems,” he said mildly, eyes locked unwaveringly on Iruka’s. Iruka’s chest immediately clenched again, because of course Kakashi had noticed his reaction to Genma’s touch. If there was anyone who seemed to read every move Iruka ever made, it was Kakashi.

“Oh,” he said after a beat, looking away. “No?”

“No,” Kakashi confirmed. He dropped his hand, but his eyes were glued on Iruka’s face.

“I must just be a little cold today, then.” He steeled himself, and looked at Kakashi again with a fake little smile, begging Kakashi to believe it, begging him not to press the subject.

Kakashi stared at him for a long moment, before tipping his head and casting his eyes up towards the sky. “I miss the cold,” he said.

Iruka knew an out when he saw one, breathing out a long sigh. “I don’t like winter,” he murmured. “I can never get my feet warm, when it’s snowing.”

“I’ll buy you a pair of socks,” Kakashi promised. The bell rang in the distance and everyone began standing up- even Kakashi.

“You’re going to class?” Iruka rose a brow at him, sliding his bag over his shoulder.

“We have a test today.” Kakashi smiled, walking with him out of their little haven. Gai had already taken off for the school at a dead sprint, and Genma, Obito, and Rin were walking just a little ahead of them.

“How do you plan on passing if you never go to class?” Iruka wrinkled his nose at him.

“I’m a genius,” he said, dry. “Haven’t you heard?”

“You did the reading outside of class,” Iruka guessed. Kakashi smiled at him, the one where his eyes went warm and content, and Iruka could just barely see the shape of his mouth beneath his mask.

“I did,” Kakashi confirmed. They walked on in silence for a while, until they reached the courtyard between buildings. Gai, Genma, and Rin headed off towards the science building.

Iruka stopped, and Kakashi stopped with him. “I’m this way,” Iruka said, gesturing over his shoulder with a finger.

“Okay.” Kakashi reached out before he could turn away, catching his wrist in a gentle grasp. Iruka blinked, confused. Kakashi lifted his arm, the hand not around his wrist gently settling over the same place on Iruka’s arm that Genma had grabbed earlier. Iruka froze on the spot, too surprised to pull away.

“Right here?” Kakashi asked, quiet.

Iruka didn’t know what to do, or say. He didn’t react until Kakashi met his eyes, staring at him calmly. Finally, he gave a stilted little nod. Kakashi’s fingers moved slowly back down the loose edge of his sleeve, looking at Iruka for permission. Again, Iruka could only nod. Kakashi pushed his sleeve up slowly, his touch achingly gentle. He stopped when the sleeve was pushed past Iruka’s elbow, giving him a clear view of Iruka’s forearm.

The bruise looked worse than Iruka remembered, now that he wasn’t the only one seeing it. Even against his dark skin, the mark was incredibly vibrant, with a few blotchy red spots where blood vessels had popped beneath the skin, and a set of five little crescent cuts. Kakashi’s hands cupped his elbow and wrist tenderly, carefully turning his arm over to examine both sides, before carefully pulling the sleeve back down. He released him, then held out his hand silently for his other arm. Iruka hesitated, before letting him take his other wrist. Kakashi repeated the process, revealing a matching mark on the opposite arm. He covered it again, and this time he didn’t let go of Iruka’s wrist, squeezing it very, very gently.

“Iruka,” Kakashi said, and Iruka didn’t realize he’d been staring at his feet until Kakashi called his attention back up. Kakashi was watching him with those calm, dark eyes, and Iruka felt inexplicably like he might cry. Distantly, he noticed that the late bell was ringing.

“It’s nothing,” Iruka said finally, forcing a small smile onto his face. “Just a little- kinky,” he joked, barely managing to make the words come out, much less make them believable.

Kakashi’s calloused thumb rubbed a gentle circle into the tender skin of his inner wrist, looking down at where he was holding Iruka’s hand between them. The silence lingered, and Iruka felt the urge to cry building deep in his chest.

“Hound,” Kakashi said at last, out of nowhere. Iruka shook his head a little, frowning at him.

“What?” he mumbled.

“Hound,” Kakashi repeated, eyes turning into little crescents. “That’s your new safeword. In case things ever get a little too-” And for the first time ever, Iruka heard Kakashi’s voice break, a quiet betrayal of his own tension. “-kinky,” he finished, fingers flexing delicately against Iruka’s skin.

“Okay,” Iruka said after a moment, looking down at where Kakashi was still holding him.

“I’m going to have Obito send you my phone number. Okay?”

“Okay,” Iruka repeated.

“Okay,” Kakashi agreed. He squeezed Iruka’s wrist one more time before releasing him. He stepped back, shoulders returning to his usual, casual slump. “Get to class, Iruka-kohai. I can’t be seen corrupting you in the hallways.”

Iruka smiled despite himself, sketching out a little half-hearted bow. “Yes, Kakashi-senpai,” he mumbled, and hurried away. His teacher chastised him for arriving late, and he fed Anko a lie about falling asleep at lunch to excuse his tardiness. It took half of his class for it to click in his mind that Kakashi had called him Iruka, with absolutely no honorific at all. 

It wasn’t until the end of the day, when he received a text from Obito with just a phone number, that it sank in that Kakashi knew about the secret parts of his relationship with Mizuki. It wasn’t until hours later, after spending the evening with Mizuki, that he realized that the dread in his stomach was only partially fear of Mizuki finding out. Even more than that, the dread was a warning, a growing confirmation, that something was very, very wrong between him and Mizuki, and that ignoring it for much longer may not be an option.

\------------

The days dragged on, slowly approaching the end of the school year, and graduation for Iruka’s new friends.

“What are you going to do next year, Iruka-kun?” Obito asked, dismayed. “You won’t have us to guide your way through this cruel world! Who will you eat with?”

“I don’t know,” Iruka said honestly, and was surprised that he meant it.

“He’ll still see us,” Kakashi said casually. He was in the midst of a very aggressive, one-sided thumb-wrestling match with Gai, who seemed to be giving it his all. Kakashi was actually holding his book in his other hand, though Iruka had noticed he hadn’t turned a single page through the duration of their little battle.

“But when?” Obito demanded, mouth twisting into a pout. “We’ll be adults, with jobs. And _responsibilities._ ”

“Are you upset about Iruka or about having responsibilities?” Kakashi cut Obito a quick look, before looking back at Gai. The moment of distraction had nearly gotten his thumb captured.

“Obviously about Iruka!”

“And the responsibilities,” Rin said cheerfully.

“We’ll see Iruka after school,” Kakashi said, as if it had already been decided. “He’ll come visit our apartments in the evenings and we’ll tutor him on his school work.”

Iruka glowered, pushing Kakashi’s shoulder. “Who said I need you to tutor me?”

Kakashi made a dismayed noise, the shove sending him off balance, and giving Gai the final opportunity to lock down his thumb. Gai shouted in victory, leaping to his feet and taking off to, apparently, do a victory lap around the field. “Iruka-kun!” Kakashi said, giving him a deeply betrayed look. “How could you?”

Iruka beamed, crossing his arms. “Serves you right. Tutor, my ass.”

Genma opened his mouth, and Kakashi slapped a hand over it without looking. “I meant you could say we were tutoring you, and just hang out with us,” Kakashi clarified. “After all, I won’t have any obligation as your senpai then.” Genma said something, the words entirely muffled by Kakashi’s firm hand.

Iruka flushed anyway, looking away. “I’ll visit Obito-senpai,” he said petulantly.

“Yeah!” Obito tossed an arm around his shoulders loosely, grinning at Kakashi. “Who's the senpai now?”

Genma threw his hands into the air.

\---

There was barely a week of school left, and rather than look forward to another endless summer of mayhem, Iruka felt as if he was staring into a black pit. Summer was a promise of days and days alone, or with Mizuki as his only companion. Anko, as usual, would be going off to some weird summer camp. Usually the promise of days and days full of Mizuki filled Iruka with a tingling, delightful anticipation. The feeling had faded recently, replaced at best with a quiet acceptance, and at worst with a heavy dread.

He tried to push the thought away as he approached Mizuki’s house for their afternoon date. Mizuki’s foster parents were away for the weekend, Mizuki had told him, wicked smile promising an evening of sex, most likely in his foster parent’s bedroom. Iruka had mustered up a blush and a grin, and silently wondered how long it would take arousal to grow entangled with violence tonight.

He dispelled the thought as he knocked on Mizuki’s door. Mizuki opened the door and immediately drew him into a kiss that Iruka returned with easy familiarity. He kicked off his shoes at the entrance before letting Mizuki guide him deeper into the house. As expected, they ended up falling into his foster parents bed, Mizuki’s hands immediately moving to undo his jeans.

“Fuck,” Mizuki growled against his ear, sucking a searing kiss to the tender skin. It made Iruka yelp and writhe, hands pushing and pulling at Mizuki’s shirt. “I’m gonna make you scream,” he said, voice full of dark promise. Iruka quickly dismissed his instinctive dread, pulling Mizuki’s into a kiss to stop him from saying anything else.

Iruka didn’t speak again until their clothes were gone and Mizuki was pressing a dry finger into him, making him gasp and arch away. “Ow- ‘zuki, what the fuck-”

“Stop.” Mizuki pressed his hip into the bed, trying once more to open him with a blunt, dry finger. He forced one digit in and Iruka hissed sharply, face screwing up at the uncomfortable stretch and burn of it.

“Mizuki, stop-” He reached down, grabbing his wrist awkwardly to stop his movements.

“What?” Mizuki paused, looking down at him with dark eyes. Iruka realized with a start that he barely recognized him; he couldn’t see the happy little boy he’d grown up with, or the sad boy who’d held his hand after their parents had passed away and promised Iruka that he would keep him safe. All he could see was darkness, anger, and- and hate, reflecting dully back at him.

He swallowed thickly, feeling tears gather in his eyes unbidden. “That hurts,” he whispered softly. Mizuki’s face didn’t change at all, eyes utterly blank. “That hurts,” he repeated, stroking a trembling hand up Mizuki’s chest. “Why don’t you grab the lube?” He smiled, sure that it wasn’t steady. “Get me all wet for you.” He stumbled over the words, carefully trying to tamp down his rising panic. Mizuki had never been like this before; he held him too tightly and sometimes he got mad while they were intimate, but he’d never been so completely cold. He’d never purposefully hurt him like this.

“This’ll be good. Just hold still,” Mizuki said, and pressed his finger deeper before attempting to add a second that made Iruka burn so sharply he reacted without thinking. He twisted to plant a foot against Mizuki’s chest and shoved him back with all of his might, gasping when his fingers were tugged out unceremoniously as he flopped back on the bed. Iruka had managed to catch him by surprise, which was honestly shocking, but not shocking enough to stop Iruka from jumping into action. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans before darting into the bathroom just as Mizuki managed to get to his feet. He closed the door quickly and locked it, heart hammering in his chest.

“Iruka!” Mizuki hit the other side of the door and Iruka stumbled back, nearly tripping into the shower. He hurriedly pulled on his jeans, wincing at the drag of denim on sensitive skin. Mizuki was still pounding on the door, which trembled under the assault. “Iruka!”

Iruka pulled his phone from his pocket, thanking every deity he could think of that it hadn’t fallen out as they undressed. His hands were shaking so badly he could hardly navigate through the screen, but finally he found the number he was looking for hidden deep within his message thread with Obito. He selected it and, with shaking fingers, sent a single word. He dropped the phone when the door gave a mighty shudder, and had to kneel down to grab it from where it had skittered behind the toilet. By the time he grabbed it, there was already a reply from the unsaved number.

**Unknown, 19:42**  
_Where are you?_

Iruka took a deep breath, and quickly sent off Mizuki’s address. He glanced at the door, which was still holding strong under Mizuki’s anger.

**Unknown, 19:45**  
_Coming now._

**Iruka, 19:45**  
_Meet you at the curb._

The pounding and shouting stopped abruptly and Iruka sucked in a breath, staring warily at the door.

“Iruka,” Mizuki said, and the word cracked pathetically. He sounded near tears, and it broke Iruka’s heart to pieces. “Iruka, I’m sorry.”

Iruka stepped hesitantly towards the door, touching the wood lightly. “You hurt me,” he said quietly.

“I know,” Mizuki said, voice thick. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please come out.”

Iruka stared at the doorknob, heart thundering in his ears. “I’m scared,” he said finally, squeezing his eyes closed.

“You’re scared of me?” Mizuki sounded dumb-struck.

“You hurt me,” Iruka repeated, and finally the tears started in earnest.

There was a long delay. And then another strike against the door that had Iruka stumbling back. “I said I was _sorry!_ ” Mizuki snarled, and Iruka turned away without listening to another word. There was a small window above the toilet. Iruka opened it, careful not to let it make a sound. He shifted up carefully to sit in the window, his legs already splayed across the roof. Mizuki was still screaming his name, pounding at the door.

“I’m scared, Mizuki,” he said again. He didn’t wait to hear the response, wiggling out across the rough roof tiles. Hopefully, his last response would win him a few extra minutes before Mizuki realized he was gone. He had to jump and grab onto a limb of the tree beside the roof. Slowly, he lowered himself through the branches to reach the ground. He scraped his chest and arms against the bark, and his tears blinded him halfway through his descent. He dropped the last few feet, landing on his back with a sharp exhale. He scrambled to his feet and hurried across the lawn before he could even catch his breath.

He made it to the road just as a small red sedan pulled up to the curb. Kakashi climbed immediately out of the passenger seat, approaching him with empty hands and large eyes.

“You brought someone with you,” Iruka accused immediately, taking a step back, anger roaring to life in his chest.

“I can’t drive,” Kakashi said, and he sounded nearly breathless. “It’s just Obito. I didn’t tell him anything. I swear. I just wanted to get to you-”

The sudden anger was immediately eclipsed by bone-deep relief, his face collapsing once more to tears. A horrid sob ripped itself out of his chest, and he couldn’t seem to gather the strength he needed to feel embarrassed.

Kakashi stepped closer, hands hovering but not touching. “Come on- come on, let’s get you in the car-”

Iruka took a hesitant step to close the distance between them, curling his hands into Kakashi’s t-shirt and pressing his face against Kakashi’s chest. Kakashi held his arms awkwardly to the side for a moment, before he drew him closer. Iruka thought he might be speaking reassurances into his ear, but he couldn’t hear it, white noise blocking out everything but the constant drum of _safe safe safe_ that echoed in his ears.

Kakashi went tense all of a sudden, and in the distance, Iruka heard Mizuki shout his name again, followed by the slamming of his front door.

“Get in the car,” Kakashi ordered. He shuffled Iruka towards the car and opened the back door, gently guiding him inside.

Iruka let himself be pushed inside, trying to drag Kakashi in with him. Kakashi pressed Iruka’s hands away gently and closed the door.

Obito was leaning across the center console, a big pair of glasses on his nose. “Kakashi!” he snapped. “Get in the fucking car!”

Kakashi did not get in the fucking car. He reached through the passenger-side window to lock the doors without looking. Mizuki came barreling through his garden gate. He was wearing pants, Iruka noted blankly.

“You,” Mizuki snapped, coming to a halt a few paces from the car, and from Kakashi who was standing just outside of the passenger side door. With the window rolled down, Iruka could hear every word. But when he reached for the door handle, one of Obito’s hands landed on his shoulder, gently holding him back.

“Me,” Kakashi said mildly, his hands tucked into his pockets.

“Have you been fucking him?” Mizuki snapped, and Iruka felt his face go blotchy and hot with shame.

“No,” Kakashi said.

“Liar!” Mizuki took a step forward, and Obito’s hand clenched on Iruka’s shoulder. “You’ve been fucking him. How dare you? He’s _mine_.”

“Kakashi,” Obito said again, and was ignored again.

“Iruka belongs to no one but himself,” Kakashi said. “Perhaps you should reassess.”

Mizuki’s fists clenched at his sides and he took another step forward. “Anywhere you touch him, I’ve already been. He will _always_ belong to me.”

“Iruka has never belonged to you,” Kakashi corrected. He hadn’t moved an inch, even as Mizuki moved closer and closer with clear, violent intent.

“Kakashi,” Iruka whispered, hoarse.

“Don’t worry,” Obito soothed.

And Mizuki took a swing, lunging forward. Iruka couldn’t look away, even though he wanted to squeeze his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see what damage that strike would do-

But it didn’t land. Kakashi dodged it, tipping lazily to the side. He lifted a hand, catching Mizuki’s fist before it could slam into the side of the car, likely saving him from several broken fingers. “Careful,” he said, mild. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

It was only because he knew Mizuki so well that he recognized the brief flicker of fear on his face before he snarled and tried to strike with his other hand. This time, Kakashi leaned to the opposite side and with the hand still holding Mizuki’s fist, casually used Mizuki’s momentum to send him stumbling sideways, once again saving him from striking the car. 

By the time Mizuki was steady on his feet again, Kakashi had reverted to his same casual stance, hands buried in his pockets. “You’re testing my patience,” Kakashi said, head tipping to the side.

Mizuki glowered, and turned his head to look into the car, directly at Iruka. “This is how it is now?” he said, voice dark. “I trusted you. You _slut._ ”

“Kakashi,” Obito snapped again, but before he had finished the word, Kakashi had moved. Iruka missed exactly how it happened, but suddenly Mizuki’s arm was twisted behind his back in Kakashi’s grip, Kakashi’s other hand planted on the back of Mizuki’s skull. Iruka could just see one side of Mizuki’s face, and he looked openly shocked.

“I don’t know why people think I’m so patient,” Kakashi said, a thread of irritation coloring his tone. He shoved Mizuki’s head once, just enough to make it jerk forward in a clearly uncomfortable way, before he released him entirely and shoved him back towards his own yard, sending him stumbling into the grass. “Run along.”

Mizuki scrambled up to his feet, walking backwards quickly. He glanced at Iruka, and Iruka could see the hate in his eyes even behind the mask of fear. He turned away, walking quickly back towards his house.

Kakashi reached into the car window and unlocked his door, before sliding back in. “Let’s go,” he said.

Obito huffed a sigh and pulled back onto the road. “We have to go back to my house. I’m dead if anyone finds out I left Sasuke alone.”

“Fine,” Kakashi said. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Iruka, before shifting forward and carefully tugging his t-shirt over his head. He twisted to face the backseat, holding out his t-shirt wordlessly. Iruka took it and carefully pulled it on over his tender, tree scraped skin.

“Thank you,” he said softly, and it wasn’t for the shirt at all.

\---

They had to walk nearly a block from the communal Uchiha parking area to get to the main Uchiha house. Obito let them in, hurrying off towards the sound of cartoons. Kakashi went the opposite direction, leading Iruka away from the main half of the house that was more familiar to him, and to the opposite side of the large house.

The Uchiha compound was one of the oldest in Konoha, still boasting refined, classic architecture. Kakashi led him through a formal sitting room and out onto an expansive veranda. It ran in a large loop around the home’s inner garden. Kakashi led him to the left, stopping a few doors down. He slid open the door and let Iruka enter first into what clearly had to be Obito’s bedroom. Despite the traditional tatami mats and ornate walls, the room was undeniably modern in decoration, with posters taped up, and a wall half-covered by printed photos. There was also the tell-tale contained mess of a teenager who wasn’t particularly great at chores, but knew better than to avoid picking up all together.

Kakashi herded him over to the corner, where there was a small, low table surrounded by pillows and covered in homework and an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. “Sit,” Kakashi said, quiet. Iruka sat, and watched Kakashi grab a nearby shirt off the floor. He sniffed it and pulled it on over the tight fabric of his masked, sleeveless under-shirt. There was a small Uchiha fan printed at the collar, on the back of his neck.

“Iruka-kun?”

Iruka blinked out of his daze, looking back at Kakashi’s face. “Huh?”

Kakashi was frowning, Iruka could tell. “I’m going to go get some tea and the first aid kit. Okay? I’ll be right back.”

Iruka hesitated for a moment before nodding. The idea of being alone filled him with a shocking amount of dread, but here, surrounded by Obito’s things, he felt safe enough to agree. Kakashi knelt down beside him anyway, slowly placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll be right back. I promise,” he said gravely.

Iruka managed a small smile, nodding again. Kakashi nodded back and hesitated, seeming unwilling to leave. After a moment, he managed to straighten up and slid back out onto the veranda.

Iruka wasn’t sure how long it took for him to come back. He spent the time looking through the photos on Obito’s wall, counting how many he could find of Kakashi. He counted twice, the final number coming to seventeen. The only person featured in more photos was Rin. Iruka stared for a very long time at a photo of Obito and Rin, where Obito was pressing a grinning kiss to her cheek, and she was blushing happily. They looked all of thirteen. Had they really been together so long? Were they really so happy?

He looked away when Kakashi returned, carrying a tray of steaming tea and a small white box. He set both on the table and sat beside Iruka, offering him a warm, wet towel. “For your face,” he said quietly.

Iruka took it, using it to wash away the sticky-tight feeling left behind by his tears. He wiped his neck for good measure, and then began to wipe his arms too before Kakashi’s hands met his, stopping them in their tracks. Iruka looked up at him, blinking slowly.

“Drink your tea,” Kakashi said gently. “And let me take a look at your cuts. Then you can take a shower, if you want.”

“Okay,” Iruka said. He tugged off Kakashi’s shirt without fanfare, no longer caring what Kakashi would see, or if he would notice the soft, childish pudge that Mizuki liked to point out where it still clung to his middle, yet to be burnt away by a growth spurt. 

Kakashi tended to his chest and arms with gentle hands, carefully using gauze and saline to wash away any deeper scratches where bark and dirt clung. None of them needed bandages, too shallow to bleed. By the time he was done, Iruka had finished his tea and Kakashi’s had gone cold, untouched on the tray.

“Shower?” Kakashi asked. Iruka nodded, and Kakashi pulled him gently to his feet. “I’ll grab some of Obito’s clothes for you-”

“Can I wear your shirt?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi paused, staring at him from Obito’s dresser. “Yeah,” he said finally. “Whatever you want.”

\---

Iruka wasn’t sure how long he stood in the shower, but when he got out his skin was scrubbed pink, even the tender places around his scraps, and his fingers had grown wrinkly. He quietly apologized to Obito for wasting so much of their water. He dried off with a towel left for him by Kakashi, and dressed himself in Kakashi’s t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants stolen from Obito’s clean clothes. He had to roll the waistband of his pants so they wouldn’t cover half of his feet. The t-shirt was at least a size too large for him, but when he lifted the collar over his nose, it smelled like Kakashi.

When he stepped out onto the veranda, Kakashi was standing just outside, waiting. He straightened up when Iruka appeared, alert. Iruka felt himself smiling, but he didn’t really feel happy at all.

“Okay?” Kakashi asked, stepping a little closer.

“I think I’m in shock,” Iruka said honestly, slowly looking down at his hands that were still shaking with faint tremors. “What did I do?”

Kakashi’s socked feet shifted into view, and his hands made an abortive gesture, like he was reaching out to take Iruka’s hands and decided against it. Iruka wished he would.

“I don’t think you did anything wrong,” Kakashi said after a moment.

“I- absolutely betrayed him,” Iruka said slowly. He looked back up, tears weakly gathering at the corners of his eyes.

Kakashi shook his head minutely. “I don’t think that’s what happened.”

“He’s just in pain,” Iruka whispered. “He needs me.”

“Why?” Kakashi’s brow furrowed. Iruka sincerely wished he could see his whole face.

“I’m the only one who understands.” He blinked and felt fresh tears prickle at his eyes.

“Why do you have to carry his pain?”

Iruka expected derision, or judgement; instead, Kakashi sounded honestly curious, concern the only thing wrinkling his features. So Iruka rewarded him by telling the truth.

“I don’t know,” he whispered.

“Why do you choose to?” Kakashi did take his hands then, gently cradling them in his own.

Iruka shook his head and didn’t speak. Usually he would say, because that’s what love is. But he wondered if he hadn’t had that wrong all along.

\---

When Obito returned to his room, Kakashi and Iruka were sipping fresh cups of tea. He joined them at the table, pouring his own serving into the third, empty cup on the tray. He sat with them in silence for a while, as if waiting for them to volunteer an explanation. He caved before they did.

“Okay,” he said. “What the fuck was that?”

Iruka looked down, missing the moment Kakashi whipped a hand out to smack Obito’s shoulder and the silent hiss of pain Obito concealed in response.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka said quietly. “I didn’t mean to get you involved. I thought Kakashi-senpai would come alone.”

“Nah, I don’t care about that.” Iruka peeked up at Obito through his lashes, surprised to see him looking back with sincere concern. “I just want to know if you’re alright. Or if we really need to go back and kick some ass.”

“You couldn’t kick anything,” Kakashi muttered.

“No,” Iruka interrupted before they could bicker. “No, I’m fine. I don’t…” He sighed, pressing a hand against his forehead. “I don’t want to get into specifics. But Mizuki has gotten- violent. Lately. And he did something tonight that made me react without thinking, so I called Kakashi-senpai and- here we are.” He gestured around the room, squeezing out a stressed smile.

“Iruka-kun,” Obito said quietly, eyes warm and sad. “I’m so sorry I hadn’t noticed.”

Iruka shook his head quickly. “No, no, please- don’t blame yourself-”

“He’s good at hiding it,” Kakashi said quietly. “Like a little spy.”

Obito gave Kakashi a curious look before looking at Iruka again. “Still. I’m sorry.” He reached over slowly, just as Kakashi had been doing all night, giving him plenty of room to avoid contact. He didn’t, letting Obito squeeze his knee in a firm, reassuring grip. “You don’t deserve that pain. A better friend would have noticed.” A pause. “A better friend did notice.”

Iruka glanced at Kakashi, smiling a little. “He did,” Iruka confirmed. If he didn’t know better, he would swear a small blush was peeking from beneath Kakashi’s mask.

“Would you like to sleep over?” Obito offered after a moment. “Kakashi was already staying, and baa-chan said you could stay as well.” A quick pause. “Not that I told her anything. Just that you’re another friend,” he clarified.

“Oh.” Iruka shook his head a little. “I don’t want to intrude, you’ve done more than enough-”

“It’s cool,” Obito said firmly. “If you want to stay, you stay. If you want to go home, we’ll take you home.”

Iruka hesitated. He could go home, but no one at home knew about- all of this. Kushina would try to figure out what was wrong, and Naruto would want to play and- 

“I would really like to stay.”

Obito grinned and squeezed his knee again, firm and reassuring.

\---

One quick call to Kushina - “Mizuki and I had a fight, so I’m kind of bummed out. I’m crashing with some other friends” - and Iruka was set to stay the night. It was already very late. While he was on the phone, Kakashi and Obito had pulled out two futons, and set them up a couple of feet apart on the floor beside Obito’s bed. When Obito offered Iruka the bed, he firmly declined and sank down onto one of the rolls on the floor. Kakashi settled on the one beside him, and Obito turned out the lights before climbing into bed.

A comfortable silence settled over the room. Iruka could just barely hear crickets in the garden. Within minutes, Obito began quietly snoring, soft and rhythmic in the background. Iruka focused on the sound, trying to breathe with him.

“Are you really alright?” Kakashi murmured through the dark.

Iruka turned his head slowly to look at him. Kakashi’s mask was firmly in place, but he still managed to look softer somehow, wild hair gone wilder against his pillow. He stared at him, his profile barely visible in the scant moonlight shining through Obito’s window. Iruka opened his mouth to say yes and instead heard himself say, “No.”

Kakashi shifted slightly, one hand emerging from his blankets to lay on the floor between them, a silent offer but not a demand. Iruka reached out, carefullying twining their fingers together. “Do you want to tell me what happened? You don’t have to.”

Iruka squeezed his hand tighter for a moment. “We were… about to have sex.” Iruka felt his face burn with shame- maybe shame to admit that even though Mizuki had been hurting him, he had still been letting Mizuki have such a deep part of himself. “And he hurt me.”

He felt more than saw Kakashi tense beside him, his fingers going stiff and wooden. Impulsively, Iruka rubbed his thumb against the side of Kakashi’s thumb. The fact that the little motion was enough to make Kakashi relax again made him feel incredibly powerful.

“Did he-”

“No,” Iruka said softly. “But almost.”

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi said. “That I didn’t help you more.”

“You did just enough,” Iruka contradicted, and they went quiet. They fell asleep twisted towards each other with their hands laced together on the tatami mat between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
> There are several references to injuries Iruka receives from Mizuki, most of them bruises from pinching/gripping/biting, to an abusive extent, as well as references to a generally controlling nature.  
> Most significantly, the scene beginning with the phrase "There was barely a week of school left" has a somewhat graphic depiction of attempted sexual assault that is ended swiftly. If you would like to skip it, pick up again at "Iruka pulled his phone from his pocket."
> 
> IF YOU'RE READING THIS thank you so much. I started this fic because I wanted a saucy teen oneshot about kakashi and iruka getting high under the bleachers and making out, and it took a hard left into a 50k teen drama with a side of canon-typical ninja shenanigans. oops!
> 
> it's already completed and all chapters will be posted within the next few days as i do a final edit. this is completely unbetaed, because my beta has zero interest in naruto and i had no interest in forcing that on her, so all mistakes are totally my fault.
> 
> most importantly, if i didn't tag something and you believe i should have, kindly message me!
> 
> questions? concerns? wondering about all the massive world building holes i've left for the sake of brevity? find me on tumblr at [noodletastic](https://noodletastic.tumblr.com)!


	2. two

The next morning, Iruka put his own pants back on with Kakashi’s t-shirt, and Kakashi walked him home. The route between the Uchiha compound and the Uzumaki home wasn’t actually very far; it took about fifteen minutes at a fairly leisurely pace. They didn’t talk much at all beyond a few quiet, off hand comments about the weather or the weekend. At some point Kakashi stepped close enough for their knuckles to brush and Iruka turned his hand to catch Kakashi’s in a loose grip. They finished their walk that way, hands swaying between them.

Kakashi released his hand just before they stepped into the garden. Despite the early morning hour, Kushina was already in the yard, pulling weeds from around her carefully cultivated flowers. She looked up when they opened the gate, immediately stripping off her gloves at the sight of him.

“Iruka-kun! There you are.” She met him halfway, pulling him into a warm embrace. He hadn’t realized he looked bad enough to inspire immediate comfort, but he leaned into her anyway, puzzled to notice that at some point, he’d gotten taller than her. After a few warm moments, she stepped back and held him at arm-length, giving him a once over. “Are you alright?”

Iruka bit his lip, and nodded tersely. “Yeah. Um. Mizuki and I-” His voice broke and he looked down at his feet for a moment. “Anyway,” he mumbled, before glancing over his shoulder at Kakashi. “Ba-chan, this is Kakashi-senpai.”

Kushina looked at Kakashi shrewdly, a far sharper look than Iruka had ever seen cross her face. Kakashi, strangely, dipped into a formal bow, hands folded behind his back. “Kushina-san,” he greeted quietly.

“Kakashi-san,” she replied. “Thank you for bringing my son home.”

A zip of affection whipped through his body; being referred to as her son never failed to stun him. “Don’t be so formal. He’s a friend.”

Kushina stared at Kakashi for a long moment, before her face softened into a smile. “Of course. Kakashi-kun, thank you again. Would you like to join us for breakfast?”

Kakashi smiled faintly, expression mostly hidden by his mask. “Thank you, but I have to go. I’m meeting my father this morning.”

Kushina hummed, hooking her arm through Iruka’s. “Another time, then.”

“Yes, thank you.” He bowed his head again, then looked at Iruka. “I’ll see you on Monday?”

Iruka smiled a little, nodding. “Monday,” he agreed.

Kakashi glanced briefly at Kushina, and Iruka thought he might not be imagining the way his ears turned just slightly pink. “Monday, then, Iruka-kun. A pleasure to meet you, Kushina-san.” He bowed his head awkwardly again before making a quick escape back through the garden gate.

Iruka leaned a little to watch him round the corner, before looking at Kushina again.

“He’s far more handsome than Mizuki,” she whispered conspiratorially, already watching him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“Hey!” Iruka flushed, gently tugging at the arm she held in a friendly grip.

“Just kidding!” She beamed and guided him inside. “Sort of.”

\---

It took Kushina approximately five minutes to get Iruka to admit that he and Mizuki had broken up - “I think?” - and then he was allowed to spend the rest of the weekend moping on the couch. Minato made his favorite meals without asking, and at any given time either Kushina or Naruto were cuddled up beside him. He wasn’t really sure what Kushina had told Naruto, but regardless, the boy seemed to be on a mission to make Iruka feel better, which was shockingly more effective than Iruka had expected it to be. But then, Naruto always made him feel better.

He had spent a long time trying to push his new family away, in the beginning. He had been unwilling to accept their affection, angry at the world and everyone in it not named “Mizuki.” He didn’t really know when that anger had faded away, or how he hadn’t noticed that Mizuki’s was only deepening.

He was grateful for them now. The crusade by the entire Uzumaki household to make him feel loved and supported managed to distract him until he woke up Monday morning to the abrupt realization that he was absolutely going to have to see, and deal with, Mizuki. Avoiding him at school would be much more difficult than avoiding his texts and calls.

He took the walk to school as slowly as possible, dread filling him with each passing step. But surprisingly, the first person he saw as he entered the school grounds was not Mizuki, but Genma. He appeared out of seemingly nowhere to wrap a friendly arm around Iruka’s shoulders. He grinned at Iruka’s surprised little yelp, giving him a squeeze.

“Good morning, beautiful. How are we today?” he said, giving him a little nudge to keep him walking.

“Good?” Iruka said, blinking up at him. “Where did you come from?”

“Heaven, probably. Raidou would say hell.” He paused. “You still haven’t met Raidou. You’ll love him - just not as much as you love me.”

“Genma, seriously, what are you-” Iruka stopped mid-sentence and mid-step, spotting Mizuki just outside of the door to his first class building. He went cold all over, immediately recognizing the barely-concealed anger in his best friend’s eyes.

Genma’s arm didn’t move, still casually draped around his shoulders. “Your class is this way, right?” He said, and herded Iruka inside, his body between Iruka and Mizuki. Iruka almost missed the way Genma glanced Mizuki, eyes hard as flint. Almost.

Genma hung around the door to Iruka’s classroom until the bell rang, regaling him with a story of his exploits with Gai that weekend. When the bell cut him off, he gave Iruka a pat on the shoulder and headed off with a casual goodbye cast over his shoulder.

Iruka sat through his first class in a daze, wondering why, exactly, Genma had shown up and acted as his personal bodyguard for his walk to class. He was even more confused when he stepped out of class and almost directly into Rin, who was waiting just outside.

“Good morning, Iruka-kun,” she greeted with a bright smile.

“Rin-senpai! Good morning.” He bowed his head to her, blinking in surprise when she laced their arms together and guided him down the hall.

“I had a question for you.” She smiled as they walked. “About your upcoming science exam. How are you doing on your periodic table?”

“Oh.” He frowned, thinking about it for a moment. “I honestly haven’t studied it yet. But I think I probably know half of them.”

“Iruka-kun, you need to focus,” she chided gently. “It’s your final exam of the year. Would you like me to help you study?”

“Really?” He smiled, comforted by her concern. “I would love that. If you have the time.”

“I always have the time for you.” She beamed, and it was so distracting that he almost missed Mizuki hovering outside of his classroom. When his feet stopped working, Rin gave him a tug and kept him moving through the door. “Good luck in class! Eye on the prize!” She tapped the skin under her eye and winked at him. He didn’t miss the way she waited in the doorway until he’d found his seat, or the way she positioned herself directly between him and Mizuki.

He wasn’t surprised at all to leave his class and find Obito waiting in her place.

“Candy?” Obito offered, holding out a wrapped lollipop. Iruka took it wordlessly, winding off the wrapper as they walked side-by-side to his next class.

“Did Kakashi-senpai ask you guys to do this?” he asked quietly.

“Maybe,” Obito said thoughtfully. “Or maybe we wanted to.”

Iruka blinked at him, tilting his head a little. Obito just smiled, his own lollipop clenched between his teeth. When Iruka spotted Mizuki outside his next classroom, he didn’t even break stride, thanking Obito quietly for his company before slipping into the room. When he took his seat, he glanced towards the door and saw Mizuki watching him from the hall; but he also saw the way half of Obito’s body was blocking the doorway.

Next, the person waiting for him was Gai, resplendent as usual in bright green cargo shorts, an orange emergency belt, and a green Konoha Tigers track t-shirt. “Iruka-kun!” He greeted brightly, jumping to attention as soon as Iruka stepped through the door. “We’re here to escort you into the Springtime of your Youth!”

The ‘we’ made Iruka take pause, until he noticed Ebisu sulking in Gai’s shadow. “Thank you, Gai-senpai. Ebisu-senpai.” He bowed a little in Ebisu’s direction and hid a smile when he noticed how the gesture made the sullen boy puff up. They were by far his loudest escort of the day, purely because of Gai’s excited chatter about graduation. Mizuki wasn’t waiting outside his next class, but Iruka was grateful to have his friends at his side regardless.

The first thing he saw when he stepped out of his next class was Mizuki, standing across the hall. A smirk twisted his mouth, and he took a step towards Iruka even as Iruka tried to step away.

And then Uchiha Itachi was beside him, one gentle hand on his elbow. He turned Iruka effortlessly to direct him down the hall, his narrow body sliding into place as a physical barrier between Iruka and Mizuki. “Would you mind if I joined you for lunch today?” Itachi asked quietly.

Iruka glanced back at Mizuki, and quickly looked away from the storm of anger clouding his face. “You can join us any time, Itachi-kun,” Iruka said with a weak smile. Itachi’s mouth quirked into a gentle smile, and together they covered the familiar path to the bleachers.

There wasn’t a single person missing from their little group today. They were all gathered in a tight circle, with a space left beside Obito that Itachi sat in as if it had his name on it, and another beside Kakashi that Iruka sank into gratefully. The soft buzz of nerves that he hadn’t realized had been humming in his stomach all morning finally eased, and he looked at Kakashi. He hoped his raw gratitude wasn’t as evident as he thought it may be, but the warmth he could see reflected back in Kakashi’s eyes said that it was. Iruka pulled his bento from his bag and tucked in to eat, pressing their knees together firmly.

When the lunch bell rang, Iruka made no move to stand with the others. Instead, he looked at Kakashi questioningly.

“Stay,” Kakashi said, so he did. They bid goodbye to the rest of their friends, after enduring a small chastising from Rin. Once they were gone, Iruka readjusted his bag, kicked off his sandals, and laid back in the grass with a long sigh. He heard Kakashi lay down beside him, and reached out blindly to take his waiting hand.

At some point, Iruka must have dozed off. He woke up to a distant bell and groggily sat up, only to be gently tugged back down. He looked over at Kakashi, who was holding his book in his non-Iruka hand. “Class?” Iruka mumbled.

“You’ve only slept through one period.” Kakashi looked over at him, eyes calm. That meant his next class was the one he shared with Mizuki.

Iruka settled more comfortably into the grass, squeezing Kakashi’s hand once. “What’s that you’re always reading?” he mumbled.

Kakashi hummed. “Icha Icha Paradise,” he said, eyes on Iruka. He dropped his book to his chest.

Iruka huffed a surprised little laugh, grinning. “Isn’t that porn, Kakashi-senpai?”

“It gets a bad wrap.” Kakashi sniffed, looking away briefly. “I read it for the plot.”

“Yeah, right.” Iruka grinned, giving Kakashi’s hand a playful tug. “That’s what they all say.”

“My father’s best friend wrote it. He’s like my uncle.”

Iruka paused. “I don’t know if that makes it worse, or better.”

“Undoubtedly worse,” Kakashi said cheerfully, and Iruka dissolved into giggles, casting his unencumbered arm across his eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“That’s what you said after we first met,” Kakashi mused. Iruka tipped his head to look at him again, hiding his smile behind his arm. “I’m glad to know I’m consistent.”

Iruka shook his head a little, dropping his arm back to his side. “No, senpai. I think you’re full of surprises.”

Kakashi’s eyes closed in those sweet little crescents, and Iruka couldn’t quite resist lifting his hand to graze his fingertips against his cheek. Kakashi caught his wrist gently, watching him with warm eyes. Iruka didn’t know when they’d turned to face each other. They stared at each other for a long time, comfortable silence hanging in the air.

“Can I be honest?” Iruka asked, voice not breaking a whisper.

“I hope so,” Kakashi murmured. Iruka huffed a laugh, swatting at one of his hands gently.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered, and Kakashi’s eyes widened slightly, obviously surprised. “But I’m not ready,” he finished. Kakashi relaxed, nodding a little.

“Okay,” he said.

“I don’t know when I’ll be ready. But I want you to know that I want to.” He squeezed Kakashi’s fingers, heart thrumming inside his chest. He felt energized. It felt like something in his chest was reaching out to Kakashi, desperately, and he could almost see something in Kakashi reaching back.

“I want to kiss you,” Kakashi said, “But I’m happy to wait.”

Iruka smiled, and pulled one of Kakashi hands up to press his lips against surprisingly rough fingers. They stayed there in the grass, staring at each other and occasionally murmuring nonsense, until the final bell rang.

\---

Kakashi offered to walk him home that afternoon. As soon as they left the cover of the bleachers, Iruka spotted Mizuki across the field. Iruka hesitated, locking eyes with him. He only looked away when Kakashi’s hip nudged against his.

“Do you want to talk to him?”

“I don’t know,” Iruka mumbled, tucking his hands deeper into his pockets. Kakashi nudged him again, eyes curving closed.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said, and brushed a hand against his back to gently lead him away.

They stopped by Naruto’s kindergarten on the way home. Naruto ran straight to them, colliding with Iruka’s side in an immediate hug, his head nuzzling against Iruka’s hip. “Nii-chan! I missed you!”

Iruka smiled, petting a hand over Naruto’s hair. “Were you good today?”

Naruto leaned back, looking a bit shifty. “Yes.” Iruka arched a brow and Naruto wrinkled his nose at him. “Mostly!”

“Okay.” Iruka huffed a laugh and scooped him up, balancing his weight on one hip. He was getting heavier, Iruka noticed, almost too heavy to comfortably carry. “You remember Kakashi-san?” He pointed at Kakashi, who smiled and wiggled his fingers at Naruto immediately.

“Kaka-nii-san! You’re here!” Naruto beamed, wiggling a bit in Iruka’s arms. “Sasuke said you completed your mission!” Here, he gave him a thumbs up. “Good job, shinobi!”

Kakashi looked deeply amused. He bowed his head. “Of course, Hokage-sama.”

“Actually,” Naruto huffed, pressing his chin into Iruka’s shoulder unhappily. “It’s Sasuke’s turn to be hokage. So I’m not hokage.”

“Ah.” Kakashi tilted his head. “Did he give you a mission?”

Naruto blew a raspberry and Iruka discreetly wiped the spittle away from his cheek. “Yeah! I have to do my chores.”

“Well, that is an important mission,” Kakashi mused. “And I bet you get a pretty good commission, huh?” At Naruto’s confused look, Kakashi smiled. “Money, I mean.”

“Oh, yeah!” Naruto sat up a bit, beaming. “I get a dollar every Friday! And then I can buy candy for the weekend with Kiba and Sasuke and Shikamaru-” 

The rest of the walk home, Naruto regaled them with a story from recess, about Kiba and Chouji and almost falling off the highest “tower” on the playground. “Only almost,” Naruto whined, when Iruka launched into a lecture about Respecting Heights.

“Would you like to stay for afternoon snacks?” Iruka offered when they reached the door.

“I have to meet my father,” Kakashi said, apologetic. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Iruka grinned, leaning against the doorway. “Planning to walk me home again?”

“Any day you’ll let me,” Kakashi said mildly. Iruka blushed and could just barely see the small twitch of a smirk beneath his mask.

\---

The next day was much the same; as soon as he arrived on campus, one of Kakashi’s friends appeared to walk him to class. Kakashi walked him to his class right after lunch himself, and when he stepped out of class, Kakashi was standing beside the door as if he’d never left.

Before they could escape back to the bleachers to avoid their next classes, Anko caught up with them, grabbing onto Iruka’s elbow. “Hey, wait a damn minute!”

Iruka blanched, turning under her grip. “Ah, Anko-chan-”

She dropped his arm, planting her fists on her hips. “You’re avoiding me,” she accused.

Iruka deflated, dropping his head. “Not you, not really,” he mumbled. He had felt bad that avoiding Mizuki meant avoiding Anko. But the three of them had always been a sort of package deal, and he wasn’t sure how to explain everything to her. And he didn’t know if he could do that to Mizuki.

“Mizuki said you’ve been acting strange.”

Iruka looked back up, frowning. “Mizuki and I broke up.” A pause. “I mean, not in so many words. But he… scared me so bad that I literally escaped out of his bathroom window, so. Broken up.”

Anko frowned, deflating a little. “What do you mean, scared you?”

“I don’t want to say.” Iruka sighed, scratching the scar across his nose awkwardly. “Haven’t you noticed how… different he’s been, lately? He’s just angry a lot.”

Anko snorted. “He’s Mizuki, he’s always a bitch. That’s not really new.”

“It’s in his eyes,” Iruka said quietly. “His eyes are different. It’s like he’s not even… He’s not the same person he used to be, Anko.”

“Iruka.” Kakashi’s hand found his wrist, and Iruka had almost forgotten he was standing at his side.

“Huh?” Iruka looked up at him, then looked in the direction Kakashi was staring. Mizuki was standing just a few paces away, dark eyes boring into Iruka’s. Iruka set his chin. “Oh. We should go.”

“Iruka-” Anko caught his arm again, frowning up at him. “What did he _do?_ ”

Iruka patted her hand gently. “It’s nothing. I just won’t be around for a while-”

Kakashi stiffened beside him, shifting slightly. Mizuki had taken the Anko distraction as an opportunity to approach, his mouth set in a grim line.

“You’re not even going to talk to me?” He snapped, coming to a halt beside Anko. Kakashi didn’t move between them, but Iruka felt him shift just slightly, like he was preparing for something. “I thought you were my best friend.”

Iruka frowned, searching his face. “I thought I was too. But you hurt me.”

“I apologized-”

“And I didn’t accept,” Iruka interrupted. “Because you were yelling at me, and I don’t think you were really sorry at all.”

“ _Don’t_ tell me how I feel,” Mizuki snapped. “What do you know?”

“I thought I knew you.” Iruka frowned, standing his ground. He could feel himself trembling with the effort not to move away, or cave to the instinct to apologize.

“So what?” Mizuki gestured sharply towards Kakashi, who was still standing just behind Iruka’s shoulder. “You’re with him now? I told you, he’s _dangerous_ , Iruka.”

Iruka lifted his chin, jaw clenching. “ _He’s_ never hurt me. And I’m not with him, or with you.”

“You’re really breaking up with me.” Mizuki huffed out an incredulous laugh. “You’re serious. After everything. You think you can just toss me, like- fucking trash?”

“You haven’t given me a lot of options.” Iruka’s voice cracked, eyes becoming dangerously wet. “What else am I supposed to do?”

“Just come talk to me.” Mizuki’s eyes softened, coaxing, and for a second Iruka thought he could see his Mizuki peeking through. “Please, Iruka.” He held out a hand.

A faint brush of Kakashi’s fingers against the back of his arm was enough to jar him, reassessing Mizuki’s face. The softness he’d thought he’d seen in his eyes was a veneer, covering that malignant hate that had somehow taken over Mizuki without Iruka noticing it.

Iruka blinked and felt hot tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. “No,” he said, and stepped away. Kakashi shifted easily into the space between him and Mizuki, a silent shield, and followed Iruka as he turned to leave.

“Fuck you, Iruka,” Mizuki snapped. “Fuck you!”

“Mizuki,” Iruka heard Anko start, but he didn’t hear what she said next. He turned the corner, breaking into a quicker pace, determined to put some distance between them. He didn’t stop until they had passed into the warm sunshine. He kept walking, passing the school gates. He didn’t pay attention to where he was going, moving until he felt less like he might cry and until the roil of anger-pain-confusion inside him had calmed.

Kakashi had followed him in silence. When Iruka finally stopped, swaying to lean against a light pole, Kakashi spoke. “Want to go home?”

Iruka nodded stiffly. “Naruto’s going home with Sasuke,” he mumbled. “So we don’t need to pick him up today.”

“Okay,” Kakashi agreed.

This time when they arrived, Kakashi came inside. He waited politely in the kitchen while Iruka freshened up. Iruka switched into a dry t-shirt and went to the bathroom to splash water on his face. He grimaced at himself in the mirror, his skin blotchy and red, his eyes irritated. The scar across his nose stood out in a particularly violent fashion, and while Iruka usually liked it, today he thought the way it cut across his puffy face only made him look uglier.

He joined Kakashi in the kitchen, surprised to see him already brewing tea with their little electric kettle.

“I snooped,” Kakashi said unapologetically. “But I didn’t know what you wanted as a snack, so.”

Iruka smiled a little and grabbed an apple and a hunk of cheese from the fridge, cutting both into bite-sized pieces while their tea finished. They took their snack to the living room to sit at the kotatsu. Iruka spent a few minutes searching for the remote, and then turned the television on to a quiet music channel.

When he returned to his seat, he nearly knocked his tea over when he reached for it, because across the table, Kakashi had his mask pulled down around his throat. Iruka stared, gobsmacked, and Kakashi took a casual bite of apple, staring right back at him.

Kakashi was- very handsome. Not really in the way Iruka had thought he might be, but his actual appearance managed to overshadow any expectations Iruka had built up in his mind. He was incredibly fair, with a thin, wide mouth. There was a faint white scar cutting across the right side of it, twisting the pale pink, delicate skin. His nose was thin and pointed in a rather charming way, and his jaw was sharp and narrow.

Iruka blushed and looked away as soon as he realized he was staring. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay,” Kakashi said. “If I didn’t feel comfortable with you seeing, I wouldn’t have taken it off.”

Iruka looked back up slowly. Kakashi had made no move to recover his face, calmly sipping his tea. “Thank you,” Iruka said.

Kakashi quirked a brow, and his mouth twitched up into a crooked smile. “For what?”

“For trusting me to see you.” Iruka smiled, mouth widening into a grin when Kakashi blinked at him, fair cheeks washing a faint pink. “Wow. You’re blushing.”

Kakashi pouted, looking away mulishly. “You’re one to talk.”

Iruka huffed a laugh and stretched his foot over to bump against Kakashi’s knee.

\---

Mizuki didn’t try to talk to him again, or linger outside of his classes. Iruka still had an escort, but by mid-week he’d stopped wondering if Mizuki would appear around the corner and found himself enjoying the extra time with his friends. He avoided his class with Mizuki until Thursday, when he had to sit for his final exam. He sat in a different spot than usual, as far from Mizuki as he could get, and noticed that Anko had switched seats too, all three of them scattered across the room. When the class let out, Kakashi was already waiting outside to lead him to his final class of the day.

Friday marked the last day of classes for the year. Testing was already finished, and most teachers released them before the bell. Iruka spent most of the day beneath the bleachers with Kakashi, and before the final bell even rang, he had already been escorted home. Kakashi didn’t linger, heading off to meet his father.

Iruka had the house to himself. Kushina and Minato were still at work, and they had told him not to worry about picking up Naruto, who was going home with Kiba for a playdate that afternoon. Iruka took a shower, redressed in comfy shorts and the t-shirt he had yet to return to Kakashi, and settled in for a lazy afternoon in front of the television.

When his phone went off, he ignored it. He was far more focused on systematically working his way through every packet of Naruto’s seaweed snacks. When it went off again, he reached for it lazily, not bothering to sit up from his slumped position against the arm of the couch. He squinted at the screen, sighing when he noticed his only alerts were messages from Mizuki, who had still been texting and calling him relentlessly. He moved to dismiss them, frowning when he noticed that one message had a photo attachment.

His curiosity got the best of him, and he opened the message.

The photo was of Naruto posing with his tongue out in front of the sign for a nearby nature trail, in the same clothes he’d been wearing that morning.

**Mizuki, 18:02**   
_We’re playing shinobi._

Iruka’s stomach dropped and he lurched up on the couch, staring at the screen in a blind panic. His fingers fumbled to capture a screenshot, which he sent immediately to Kakashi with an all caps, one word message: HOUND.

As soon as he hit send he was on his feet, dashing for the door. He crushed his feet into his sandals and ran into the yard, vaulting over the garden fence. The nature trail wasn’t far, maybe a five minute walk, and Iruka covered the distance in less than two minutes. He stumbled to a halt at the same sign Naruto had been photographed in front of, panting. He looked around wildly for any sign of them, with no luck.

He reached into his pocket for his phone, only to realize that his pants didn’t have pockets, and he had somehow left his phone behind. He hesitated for a moment, considering what would happen if he went back for it.

In the distance, he heard Naruto shriek, and his mind was made up for him.

He immediately followed the sound, ignoring the main trail, to follow an overgrown footpath. He strained his ears for another sound from Naruto, doing his best to funnel out the sound of his footfalls and the thundering of his heart. The further he went, the more he could hear; Naruto was laughing about something, which was somewhat reassuring. At least he was okay- for now.

Iruka ran faster.

Naruto’s noises led off of the path, through rough patches of underbrush. At last, the thick trees opened up to a small clearing. Naruto was standing in the middle alone, the grass nearly reaching his knees. He was looking around in the direction opposite of Iruka, and he was calling out into the forest, “Mizuki-nii-san! Where’d you go? You said you were going to show me a trick! Are you playing? Mizuki-nii-san!”

Iruka took a few quick steps towards him and then stopped abruptly, noticing what was in Naruto’s hand; a kunai. And it wasn’t a toy kunai, like all the boys Naruto’s age liked to play with. It was a real kunai, one of the ones older teens collected or practiced with for target competitions. Iruka’s mouth went dry, and he walked forward slowly.

“Naruto-kun,” he said, and barely restrained a wince when Naruto spun towards him, his tiny hand holding the knife awkwardly, a little too close to the blade.

“Nii-chan!” He beamed and moved forward to hug Iruka. Iruka took a quick step back, wincing when Naruto’s face fell. He covered it with a warm smile, waving.

“Hey! What do you have there?” He gestured at Naruto’s hand.

Naruto seemed to immediately forget Iruka’s initial dismissal, face splitting into a wide grin once more. He held up the kunai proudly and Iruka tried not to panic when his clumsy hold pointed the blade right at his tiny chest. “A kunai! Mizuki-nii-san brought it to me as a grad- graduation present,” he said, stumbling over the unfamiliar word. “He said he would show me how to throw it out here, since there’s no one out here, ya know?”

“Where’s Kiba-kun?” He shifted slowly into a crouch. He could feel the prickly sensation at the back of his neck that told him someone was watching him, but before doing anything else, he had to get the weapon out of Naruto’s hands.

“Oh, I told him I was gonna go train with Mizuki-nii-san instead.” Naruto grinned, holding up the thumb of his other hand in victory. “He was super jealous!”

“What about Kiba-kun’s sister? Wasn’t she picking you up?” Iruka inched forward a little.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. “She was late, and Mizuki-nii-san got there first. Kiba was going to show me their dogs, but I thought kunai practice was cooler.”

“It’s pretty cool,” Iruka agreed. He held out his hand carefully. “Can I see?”

“No way!” Naruto made a face, taking a step back. “I haven’t even played with it yet.”

“Naruto,” Iruka said sharply, dropping all pretense. He did his best to look stern, even though he felt like his whole body was shaking with fear. “Give it to me right now. It’s not safe.”

Naruto took another step back. “Nii-chan,” he whined. “It’s mine.”

“I’ll give it back when I know it’s safe to play with,” Iruka promised. “Give it to me, Naruto.”

“I gave it to Naruto-kun as a gift,” Mizuki said. “Let him keep it.”

Iruka’s head snapped up. Mizuki had emerged from the trees, and was casually spinning another kunai around his middle finger. Iruka, at one point, had thought it was very cool that Mizuki had picked up a kunai hobby. It didn’t seem very cool anymore.

“What are you doing?” Iruka snapped, fists clenching. “What are you doing with Naruto?”

“What’s the matter?” Mizuki moved forward slowly. Iruka glanced at Naruto, who was positioned between them, and then quickly back at Mizuki. “You wouldn’t talk to me, but Naruto seemed happy to see me. We’re just playing, Iruka-kun.”

Even from a few yards apart, Iruka could tell that something was wrong. Mizuki seemed to be radiating some sort of energy that Iruka couldn’t quite recognize; like his usual anger but stronger, almost palpable.

“Naruto,” Iruka said, keeping his voice firm. “Mizuki is not our friend anymore. Mizuki hurt me. Please come here right now.”

Mizuki caught his spinning kunai with alarming accuracy, fist clenching around the handle. Had he always been that skilled? Iruka hadn’t seen him practice with a kunai in months- or had he stopped paying attention? “That’s not very nice, Iruka.”

Naruto looked between them, confusion furrowing his pale brows. “I don’t get it,” he said, all childish innocence.

“Naruto, I’m your brother. Come here _now._ ” Even though his tone left no room for argument, Iruka was pretty sure what finally got through to Naruto was the way his voice cracked around the final word. Even Naruto seemed to clock the tension in his voice, wary eyes turning towards Mizuki. He walked slowly backwards to Iruka’s side, and when Iruka held out his hand, Naruto wordlessly handed him the kunai. Iruka barely noticed when the sharp blade sliced into his finger, eyes focused on Mizuki.

Mizuki’s mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. “Such a good brother. You ignore me for a week, ignore how much pain _I’m_ in, but one little threat to Naruto and you come running. You don’t care about me at all, huh?”

“I care about you,” Iruka said bluntly, and found that he was telling the truth. “I just- you’re not safe. You just- you _just said_ you were threatening a child.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt him,” Mizuki snapped.

“I don’t believe you!” Iruka shouted, surprising himself. It seemed to catch Mizuki off-guard too, his face going slack with disbelief.

“You don’t believe me?” he repeated, head tilting.

Iruka swallowed, adjusting his hold on the hilt of the kunai. He had never liked messing around with knives, but having something to defend them was at least a small comfort. “No,” he said finally.

Mizuki nodded slowly. “So I must be lying.” He huffed a laugh and took a step back. “Is that right?”

“Mizuki-”

“Since you’re always so right. You know what I mean, you know what I _feel_ \- fine! Naruto-kun, do you want your kunai lesson?” He asked, eyes turning towards Naruto. Iruka’s blood ran cold.

“No thanks,” Naruto whispered, his bright eyes wide.

“Lesson one,” Mizuki said. “Target practice.” He flung the kunai with startling accuracy, right at Naruto.

Iruka didn’t think, he just moved. He dropped the kunai in his hand and twisted to the side, sweeping Naruto into his arms. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, enough force behind it to knock him forward and into the grass. He caught himself on his forearms, just managing to stop himself from crushing Naruto into the earth.

Naruto shrieked, bursting into tears as soon as his back hit the ground. He sobbed, staring up at Iruka with wide, shocked eyes.

Iruka smiled down at him, dizzy with pain. “You’re okay,” he whispered. “Don’t worry, Naruto, I’ve got you.” Naruto went quiet immediately, barely hiccuping little sobs.

Even over the noise, Iruka could hear Mizuki approaching. He shifted over Naruto, curving his back to cover as much of his small body as he could. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating another strike.

It didn’t come; instead, he heard stumbling footsteps and a sharp shout as Mizuki fell to the grass. Iruka looked over his shoulder, white spots clouding his vision as the shift moved the knife that was - holy fuck - the knife that was imbedded in his back.

Kakashi was crouched over them, a kunai clenched in his right hand. He was wearing black athletic pants and his mask undershirt. There was a little pouch on his lower back, where his other hand was resting in anticipation.

“Kakashi?” Iruka breathed, and blinked away another wave of dizziness. Oh, fuck, that hurt. That hurt so much.

“Are you okay?” Kakashi asked. He didn’t look back at him, staring across the clearing at Mizuki, who was rolling back to his feet.

“Not my best,” Iruka admitted, voice cracking. “Where did you come from?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kakashi’s eyes were trained on Mizuki who was slowly walking towards them.

“You’re always… in the way,” Mizuki said, ire directed at Kakashi now. “You come out of nowhere, and think you can just… take him?”

“Mizuki,” Kakashi said, voice level. “You need to stop moving, and calm down. This is over.”

“Shut the _fuck_ up!” Mizuki snapped. Iruka shifted slowly off of Naruto to sit in the grass, not sure how much longer he would be able to hold himself up. Naruto immediately crawled to his side, tucking himself behind Iruka’s good shoulder. Iruka twisted his arm back to hold him there, ignoring the way it made his wound scream.

Iruka saw Kakashi’s eyes flicker in his direction, before going straight back to Mizuki. “You need to calm down, Mizuki,” he said again. “We should talk about this. This doesn’t need to get any uglier.”

“I said shut _up._ ” Mizuki lunged forward and Kakashi moved from crouching to standing so smoothly, Iruka could barely track the movement. He was completely upright now, blocking the strike with his unarmed hand. Mizuki moved to strike again, and the kunai disappeared from Kakashi’s right hand as he blocked the next strike. Iruka didn’t see how it happened, but the kunai was in his left hand now. Kakashi had grabbed Mizuki’s wrist this time, twisting his arm to the side in an effort to stop him.

“That’s enough,” Kakashi said mildly. “You need to calm down.”

Mizuki let out a shout of rage and brought his head forward, aiming to headbutt Kakashi. Kakashi jerked his head to the side, and Mizuki’s skull collided with his shoulder instead. Kakashi grunted on impact, and Iruka couldn’t tell if it hurt him or not.

Mizuki was rearing back to strike again, when the most peculiar thing happened; two men dropped from the trees on either side of him. They were dressed in all black, with short sleeves and fingerless gloves. They had pouches similar to Kakashi’s strapped to their thighs with white bandages. Expressionless porcelain masks covered their faces. One of the masks looked like a deer; the man in this mask had dark brown hair, gathered into a high ponytail. The other mask was of a dog, and that man had shiny silver, messy hair. They each had a hold on one of Mizuki’s arms before their feet were fully settled on the ground.

“You’re fast,” said the Dog.

“Thanks,” Kakashi said. He stepped back, and the kunai that had been in his left hand was already gone; Iruka hadn’t seen him put it away. He lifted a hand to rub the shoulder Mizuki had struck.

“ANBU,” Naruto whispered into his ear, his voice full of awe.

“Wait- wait, no-” Mizuki said, when the appearance of the ANBU sank in. “How did you find-”

“Be quiet,” the man in the deer mask ordered. Mizuki’s jaw clicked shut, eyes wide and shocked.

“Medical is on the way,” the Dog said. “Are you alright?”

Kakashi nodded. “Umino needs immediate attention.” He motioned at Mizuki. “Got him with a kunai. It was intended for the Uzumaki child and Umino blocked the strike.” He paused. “The strikes were reinforced with chakra. And I could feel his killing intent.”

Iruka swayed a bit, blinking rapidly. Nothing was making sense; he’d never heard Kakashi speak like that, his voice clipped and business-like. Maybe it was the blood loss. He was certainly losing a lot of it. He could feel where his shirt had been soaked through, sticking against his back. Kakashi’s shirt, anyway. Now he’d never been able to return it.

“Medical will be here soon,” the Dog repeated.

“We’ll deliver the boy to T&I,” the Deer said. “Do you have more information regarding the situation?”

“Yes,” Kakashi confirmed.

“Report in after the civilians are retrieved,” the Deer said.

“Yes, taichou.” Kakashi bowed his head. One moment, the ANBU and Mizuki stood in front of Kakashi. The next moment they were gone, a swirl of leaves left behind.

Iruka blinked at the empty space as Naruto gasped in delight. “They were really ANBU!” Naruto exclaimed. “Kiba and Sasuke will be _so_ jealous!”

Kakashi turned and knelt beside them, looking at Iruka with open concern. “Are you alright?” he asked again, but this time he was asking as Kakashi, not as- whatever that had been.

Iruka nodded a little, and felt himself blinking more than he should be. “I ruined your shirt,” he said.

Kakashi’s eyes crinkled at the corners, just a bit. “I forgive you.”

There was a thud on Iruka’s left, and he looked up to see a young woman with a turtle mask standing behind him. Her uniform was identical to the two men from before. She knelt down, hands pressing into Iruka’s back with no preamble. He expected it to hurt, but instead it was just a warm pressure.

“Nii-chan!” Naruto exclaimed. “Your back- you’re bleeding!”

“It’s okay, Naruto-kun.” Iruka turned to look at him, giving him a woozy smile. “ANBU-san will fix me right up. Like in your books, remember?”

Naruto nodded hesitantly, curling his tiny fist in the front of his own t-shirt. “Does it hurt?” he whispered.

“No.” Iruka grinned weakly. “I’m your big brother, remember? I’m super strong.”

Naruto beamed and nodded. “Really strong!”

“It’s out and the wound is stable,” the Turtle said. Iruka thought her voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. He hadn’t felt her remove the blade. “I want to transfer him to the hospital, but I can only carry one.”

Kakashi hesitated, and looked at Iruka. “Is it okay if she takes you to get fixed up?”

Iruka bit his lip, glancing at Naruto. “I would say yes, but-”

“We’ll be right behind you,” Kakashi said quickly. “I’ll keep him safe. I promise. Please go.”

Iruka frowned and looked at Naruto, who was staring at the Turtle with open admiration. “Okay,” he said, and nudged Naruto lightly. “Hey. I have to go to the hospital. Kakashi-kun is going to bring you, okay?”

Naruto blinked and gave Kakashi a wary look. “I don’t want you to leave me,” Naruto whispered, as if Kakashi and the Turtle wouldn’t hear.

Iruka smiled faintly, shaking his head. “It’s okay. Kakashi-kun is safe. I promise. He’s nice. He’ll bring you to the hospital and he’ll call home, okay?”

“...kay,” Naruto reluctantly agreed, little mouth puckered in a frown.

“We’re going now, Umino-san,” the Turtle said, and then Iruka felt a sudden yank at his bones. Between one blink and the next, they went from the forest to a sterile hospital room. There were already healers gathered around, who helped Iruka from the floor onto the bed, guiding him to lay on his stomach across the mattress. They cut away his shirt, not giving him time to protest.

The Turtle was still standing over him, just in his line of vision. Her head tilted to the side, and then she covered his eyes with one hand. “Sleep,” she said, and he did.

\---

When Iruka opened his eyes, the room was dark. He was still laying on his stomach, but the blankets were pulled around him and he was wearing something scratchy that could only be a hospital gown. His head was turned towards the window, and the world beyond was dark. Night time.

He shifted his head slowly to look in the other direction. He noticed it didn’t hurt to move now, but his shoulder didn’t feel quite normal. It was as if that entire section of his body was entirely numb. When he settled again, he opened his eyes to see Minato sitting at his bedside with a book in hand, but his keen blue eyes were already watching Iruka when he looked over.

“There you are, Iruka-kun,” he said quietly. He closed his book, shifting forward. One of his big hands gently cupped the back of Iruka’s head, and it was a struggle for him to keep his eyes open under the gentle comfort. “How do you feel?”

“Weird,” Iruka mumbled. His throat didn’t feel too dry and scratchy, so he knew he hadn’t been asleep for long.

“Yeah?” Minato smiled, petting a hand over his hair slowly. “I’m happy to see you awake. You gave us quite the scare.”

Iruka grimaced around the sharp clench of guilt in his stomach. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry,” Minato soothed. He kept stroking his hair, a gentle, even rhythm. “It’s not your fault. We were just worried about you.” He paused. “Naruto says you’re a hero, you know.”

Iruka relaxed, letting his eyes drop closed as he smiled. “Kakashi and ANBU were the heroes.”

“They didn’t throw themselves in front of a flying knife to protect their little brother. I think it’s clear who the hero is.”

Iruka’s smile turned into a loose grin. “In that case…” Silence fell. Minato continued to stroke his hair, and Iruka thought, this feels like love.

He may have dozed off at some point before Minato spoke again. “You have a loyal guard,” he commented.

Iruka opened his eyes again slowly. “ANBU guard?”

Minato smiled. “Not quite. He said he’s called Kakashi.”

Iruka blinked rapidly, suddenly much more awake. “He’s here?”

“Hasn’t left all day,” Minato confirmed. “Would you like to see him?” 

Iruka nodded quickly. Minato stood and moved away, stepping out into the hallway. A second later, Kakashi stepped inside, approaching slowly. He stood beside the bed, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. Iruka had to twist a bit to see his face, and noticed that Kakashi wasn’t quite looking at him.

“Hey,” he mumbled, awkwardly reaching out with a numb hand to try and grab some part of Kakashi. “Don’t ignore me.”

Kakashi’s eyes lifted slowly to his, and Iruka blinked at the shame he saw reflected back at him. There was a small crease between his brows, his face tense, as if he was trying to push back some unwanted emotion.

“I’m sorry,” he said, voice stiff. Iruka redoubled his efforts, managing to grab onto the tail of Kakashi’s shirt.

“Why?”

Kakashi looked down again, his eyes hidden behind his unruly flop of hair. “I should have been faster. Or stayed with you this afternoon. Or- reported Mizuki sooner… I didn’t know. That he would do something like that.” Iruka watched his hands clench against the edge of the bed. “I thought he was just- a scorned boyfriend. But I should have known better. I knew he had hurt you, but I still-”

Iruka tugged at his shirt weakly. “Don’t.”

“It’s my fault you got hurt. I should have known better. I didn’t take him seriously.” Kakashi’s knuckles went white, his fists were clenched so tightly. Iruka tugged at his shirt again, shifting awkwardly.

“Come’ere,” he demanded. Kakashi immediately shifted to kneel beside him, head bowed. Iruka pressed his knuckles clumsily against Kakashi’s cheek until he lifted his head. The other boy’s eyes were dark, grief wrinkling his brow. “Shh,” he murmured, dragging his knuckle against Kakashi’s mask. “Not your fault.”

“It is,” Kakashi insisted.

Iruka wrinkled his nose at him, shaking his head a little. “I didn’t know Mizuki would do that either,” he pointed out. “And I know him best. It’s okay.”

“It’s not _okay,_ ” Kakashi mumbled bitterly.

“You came when I called you,” Iruka reminded him. He tried to tap Kakashi’s nose, succeeding in poking his cheek. “He would have done something way worse, if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

“Still-”

“Kakashi-kun. Thank you.”

Kakashi’s expression relaxed, eyes softening. He caught Iruka’s wandering hand in one of his, squeezing it gently. “Please don’t thank me, Iruka-kun.”

“Please don’t make me thank you twice.” He smiled sleepily, blinking against another wave of exhaustion. Whatever medication was forcing him to rest also seemed to loosen his tongue, because then he said, “Please don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” Kakashi promised immediately.

Iruka hummed, eyes drifting closed. “Good. I’m gonna be so mad if I wake up and you’re gone.”

“I’ll be here,” Kakashi promised again. Iruka smiled to himself as a happy warmth filled his chest. He let himself drift to sleep, fingers twined with Kakashi’s.

\---

When he woke up again, the sky was bright beyond the window. At some point he’d shifted to curl up on his uninjured side, and he noticed that his body wasn’t numb anymore. There was a distant ache in his shoulder, but it was easy to ignore. He closed his eyes against the bright sunshine, taking a slow breath.

“Nii-chan?” Naruto whispered, and for Naruto, a whisper was nearly a yell. Iruka wrinkled his nose and shifted slowly to lay on his back. He braced for a spike of pain when his shoulder hit the bed, but nothing came beyond a light pressure.

“Hi,” he said, voice raspy. He smiled at Naruto, who was standing against his bed, watching him with huge eyes. He reached over, ruffling Naruto’s hair affectionately. Kushina had joined Minato at his bedside, a story book folded open against her knee. When Iruka met her eyes, she was smiling, eyes damp.

“Good morning, Iruka-kun,” she said.

“It’s lunch time,” Naruto whispered, conspiratory. “You slept a long time. Because of your boo-boo.”

Iruka croaked out a laugh, dropping his hand back to the bed. “I’m sorry.”

“No! You have to rest!” Naruto leaned forward, patting Iruka’s arm with just a little too much vigor. Minato reached over and gently restrained him by the back of his t-shirt before he could scramble up on top of Iruka.

“Okay, okay-”

“I brought him water.”

Iruka looked up. Kakashi had appeared at Kushina’s side. Iruka hadn’t heard him walk in. He was offering out a plastic cup to her with his head slightly bowed. His hair was damp from a recent shower, but he was dressed in the same clothes as the day before- like he hadn’t gone home.

“You gotta help me sit up, if you want me to drink it,” Iruka pointed out, smiling when Kakashi looked over at him.

“I didn’t want to intrude.” Kakashi straightened, awkwardly holding the cup.

Iruka shook his head, a wave of affection warming his cheeks. “You’re not.”

“Here.” Kushina took the cup from Kakashi’s hands. “Help him up.”

Kakashi blinked down at her, then bowed his head again before rounding the bed to the opposite side of Iruka’s little family. He leaned down and wound an arm around Iruka’s waist with care, helping him sit up. He supported his weight while he adjusted the pillows. Iruka turned his head to watch him, smiling faintly at the look of concentration in his eyes. Kakashi smelled like hospital soap, and faintly of sweat from his day-old clothes. Iruka reached up, brushing his fingers against Kakashi’s bare shoulder.

The touch made him pause, eyes darting to meet Iruka’s for just a moment. He looked away to finish his task, a faint pink visible just above his mask. As soon as the bed was ready, Kakashi gently eased him back down against the pillows. Kakashi pulled back and let him go, but awkwardly hovered beside the bed.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“Mmhm.” Iruka smiled, heart fluttering happily. “Thanks.”

Kakashi straightened up, stepping back to lean against the window sill while Kushina helped Naruto help Iruka drink. Naruto had to be lifted carefully onto the bed to do it, face determined. Iruka didn’t say that he didn’t really need anyone to hold his water for him. He just played along. He was happy to have Naruto close, and to be able to see for himself that yes, Naruto was safe.

When the cup was empty, everyone settled back in. Naruto wedged himself against Iruka’s side, and Iruka discretely adjusted him so that he wasn’t putting any additional pressure on his wound. Naruto immediately launched into a story about the lady he had met in the hospital cafeteria, promising that Iruka would like her very much. When the story tapered off, Iruka looked up at Kakashi, then Kushina and Minato.

“Can I... ask a question?”

Kushina and Minato glanced at each other, then looked back at him. “About what happened?” Minato asked.

“To Mizuki,” Iruka confirmed. “He’s okay, right?”

Minato glanced at Naruto, a frown crossing his face briefly, then back at Iruka. “Ah, well-”

“Could I take Naruto-kun for dessert?” Kakashi cut in. He stepped forward, eyes curved- but Iruka could tell he wasn’t really smiling. He rubbed his stomach. “I’m craving dango suddenly.”

Naruto’s face lit up. He looked to his parents pleadingly. “Can he? Please?”

Minato visibly relaxed, and pointed at Naruto. “Just one serving.”

Kushina winked behind Minato’s shoulder, holding up two fingers. Naruto grinned and nodded. “Okay!”

Kakashi came around and scooped Naruto off the bed like he weighed nothing, glancing at Iruka. “We’ll bring some back to share.” Iruka gave him a grateful smile, and waved at Naruto as they left.

Once the door had closed behind them, Iruka turned his eyes to his guardians, frowning. “Is it bad?”

MInato shifted forward in his seat and Kushina moved to sit by his knees on the bed, hand resting gently on his leg. “It’s not bad,” Minato soothed. “Just complicated.”

“Complicated?” He frowned further, glancing between them.

Minato nodded, and Kushina said, “But Mizuki is okay. He’s being held right now, for his own safety while they figure out how to help him.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Iruka felt uncomfortable down to his bones; all he had ever tried to do was protect Mizuki, and he had failed spectacularly.

“Since it’s his first offense, they’ll be lenient. He’ll probably be put on probation, and have to do a little community service. He’ll be moved to a different school. Given the situation, he would probably have to agree to some form of court ordered treatment, for his anger.” Minato smiled, comforting. “They’ll try to help him, I promise.”

“That’s- not so bad?” Iruka twisted a hand into the sheets. “I mean…”

Kushina sighed, toying with a long strand of hair. “But that isn’t the complicated part. He’s going to be held for a while, probably longer than you’re thinking- but-”

“It has to do with you, too,” Minato continued when Kushina seemed too frustrated to go on. “It’s for your safety, of course but… so.” He smiled again, the corners wavering a little. “We’ve got something pretty important to tell you. We didn’t want to tell you quite yet.”

“You were supposed to have time.” Kushina huffed a breath.

Iruka’s pulse was slowly climbing, nervous energy building up in his chest. “For what?”

Kushina took a deep breath. “You know how we said your mom and I worked together?”

“You didn’t?” Iruka felt himself react, eyes widening in disbelief.

“No!” She waved a hand. “No, we did. We just didn’t work where I said we did. We-” A pause. “We worked in the Hokage’s office.”

Iruka stared at her wordlessly. It felt like the earth was shifting beneath his feet, everything going just a little wonky.

“Your dad, too,” Minato added. “Kushina and your mom worked together in the tower but, ah. All four of us got our orders from the Hokage’s office.”

He had to shake his head to clear it, looking between them for any sign that this was a very, very poorly crafted joke. Kushina still looked frustrated, hand fisted in the blanket beside his leg. And she looked worried beneath that. Minato just seemed to be trying to figure out how Iruka was going to react, brows furrowed as he watched him.

“You’re telling me. That my parents were- shinobi?” he said, tripping over his words with an incredulous laugh. “That _you guys_ are-?”

Minato nodded firmly. “Yes.”

Iruka barked out another laugh, folding his arms over his stomach as he broke down into giggles. “No- no, my dad worked at the butcher shop, and mom worked at the florist- with you!” He pointed at Kushina and let out another peel of laughter. It took him a long time to get himself back under control, and when he did he realized that his guardians were just watching him, with matching concern.

He felt his face fall, mouth going slack. “You’re not,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.

“We are. They were.” Kushina had her hand on his leg again.

“But- we aren’t, a part of a clan, you guys- your family isn’t even from Konoha-” He looked between Kushina’s face and her hand, confusion over-riding his shock. “Mom and dad were both civilian kids-”

“They were,” Kushina interjected quickly. “They got picked for the program after graduation. They both went in to be evaluated for enlistment. Sometimes people who aren’t part of clans have really, really high levels of chakra and they can pass the tests-”

“I knew you could be tested but- but I didn’t think that civilians were ever really-”

“It happens,” Minato said calmly. “It’s not like it used to be, we don’t need to recruit hundreds of soldiers. But we still need more than just lineage members. And not every clan member has the talent for it, or the drive. It’s a good mix of both, the clan thing is just… the mythos around it. Because everyone is required to conceal their identity, it leads to a lot of exaggeration.”

“You’re always here.” He frowned, looking between them. “I mean- ji-chan, you go on work trips sometimes, but ba-chan-”

“I go on missions,” Minato clarified lightly. “We both do.”

“Mine are just shorter, since we have you and Naruto to look after.” She smiled, squeezing his leg. “And the younger pups like to be the ones to leave the village.”

Iruka shook his head. “I just- I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me any sooner.”

“We decided to wait until you were done with school.”

“Because that’s what your mom wanted to do.” Kushina looked frustrated again. “We were trying to honor her wishes, and give you the chance to be a child, and not worry about all this stuff.”

“A lot of clans don’t even train their children until they’re done with school.” Minato shifted forward, placing a gentle hand on his wife’s knee. “There are a lot of important rules, meant to guarantee that every child in Konoha has a chance to be a child.”

“Even when we were children it was different.” Kushina rubbed a fist under her eye, giving him a shaky smile. “We had a lot of friends who joined early, during the Uprising.” Iruka had to wrack his brain to remember what she was talking about; the Uprising was a brief, violent war where a group of missing nin had banded together and attempted to dismantle the peace treaty between the major villages. It was over before he was born.

“It was a rough time, and that was nothing compared to when children were trained from birth.” Minato shook his head, squeezing Kushina’s knee. “Naruto would already be in the academy, and you would have been in the field for years. It took a horrible toll on people’s psyche. Generational dysfunction, high mortality rates before the age of sixteen, mental health risks even if they made it to adulthood. After the last great war, when the peace treaty was initially established, the five kages and representatives from smaller principalities began the initiative to put more age restrictions in place. No more child soldiers.”

Iruka looked down at his hands, trying to wrap his mind around all of it. His parents were shinobi. His guardians were _still_ shinobi. Lots of people within the community, not just fancy old families, were shinobi.

He looked up quickly. “Does that mean- did my parents really die in a car crash?”

Kushina smiled faintly. “Yeah. That, unfortunately, is all true.”

Iruka nodded slowly, looking back down at his hands. “Were Mizuki’s parents shinobi too? I think- I heard Kakashi-kun say that when Mizuki was hitting him, he was using chakra.”

“No.” Minato sighed. “That’s where this becomes a little complicated. We didn’t want to try to explain what was happening to Mizuki without telling you about your own history. Mizuki seems to be one of the ones we mentioned, someone from a civilian family with exceptional chakra. Usually it wouldn’t be a problem, and he likely would have never known unless he took the service test. But, it seems that his… mental state was allowing him to channel chakra unknowingly, which can be very dangerous.”

“Chakra is your energy.” Kushina tapped his chest. “All centered right here. Everyone has it, but not everyone can really use it. When you’re upset, though, and you have a good bit of chakra- it can be forced out as a reaction to anger, or fear, or even being really sad. And when that happens, and you don’t know what you’re doing, it can damage your chakra pathways and can be very dangerous for anyone around you.”

“So… that’s why Mizuki’s been so angry?” Iruka felt a small flicker of hope in his chest. He could feel how childish he sounded, and knew before he said it that he was wrong, but still he asked. “He just has too much chakra, and once he learns how to control it, he’ll be better?”

Minato smiled a little and shook his head. “No. It’s the opposite. His anger is what’s making his chakra react the way it is. From what we can tell, he hadn’t been able to channel chakra until yesterday. The emotion is all up here.” He tapped his temple. “That’s why they’ll probably hold him for some time. Until he isn’t a danger to himself or anyone else.”

Iruka let out a long breath, letting go of his hope before it could really take form. “Okay.”

They all sat in silence for a few long moments before Kushina spoke again. “Kakashi said that Mizuki has been mistreating you for a while.”

Iruka looked up, shocked. Kakashi had told them? They knew about- all of it?

“He wouldn’t say what he meant,” Kushina said, reaching up to take one of his hands. “He said that wasn’t his to share. He wouldn’t even tell T&I anymore than that.”

“Caused a bit of a stink, honestly.” Minato sounded amused. “I hear he’s been frustratingly vague every time they’ve tried to talk to him.”

“Oh.” Iruka slumped back into the bed and looked down, lips lifting in a small smile against his will. Of course Kakashi hadn’t told them. He wasn’t sure what T&I was, but context told him it wasn’t a group you said no to. But Kakashi would always keep his secrets. “That’s good.”

“We would like it if you told us more though,” Kushina said hesitantly. “We don’t want to pry but-”

Iruka took a deep breath and carefully centered himself before looking up again. “He’s been violent for a while,” he said calmly, willing himself not to get emotional. “I didn’t really realize how bad it had gotten until-” He bit his lip, unsure. “Until I met Kakashi-kun. He- noticed. That I had bruises and that Mizuki wasn’t nice to me. That’s why I broke up with him. Because Kakashi helped me see clearly.”

Kushina already had tears in her eyes and Minato didn’t look far behind. Kushina squeezed his hand tightly. “I’m sorry we didn’t see it,” she whispered.

He shook his head a little, looking back at his lap. “I hid it on purpose. I didn’t want-” He swallowed. “I didn’t want him to get in trouble. I think I- kind of knew, that it was bad. And that he wasn’t who I thought he was anymore but.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “He made me think- he was all I had. Because we’ve always had each other, and I’m all he had. But I had you guys too- and Naruto.” He sucked in a breath, squeezing Kushina’s hand. “And I think that’s- that’s part of why he’s so angry. He’s so- alone, and I know what that feels like and- I just wanted to help him.”

Iruka was crying in earnest now, shaking enough that it made the wound in his back begin to burn and ache past the control of whatever painkiller he was on. He rubbed the knuckles of his free hand against his eyes. “I should have told you. I don’t know why I didn’t-”

Kushina shifted on the bed, pulling him to her shoulder. Minato’s hand pressed against his back, a warm haze immediately distorting the pain that had been flaring in his shoulder. They held him through his tears, until he was too tired to keep going, face pressed into the familiar scent of Kushina’s hair. He sat back slowly once he had himself under control, looking away to wipe his face against his shoulder.

“We know it’s a lot,” Minato said quietly, hand still resting on his shoulder. “And you’ve been through a lot that we don’t even know about. But we’ll help you through it. We’re always here for you, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka gave him a watery smile. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“We’re sorry.” Kushina squeezed his hand.

There was a soft knock at the door, before it opened and Naruto stepped cautiously inside. He was holding a little vase of daisies, focused intently on not dropping them. Kakashi stepped into view behind him, holding the doorknob. Iruka met his eyes and looked away quickly, cheeks heating in embarrassment. He wiped his face discreetly in an effort to get rid of any tears or snot, even though he couldn’t hide how puffy his eyes were.

He looked at Naruto instead, smiling a little when he reached the bed. “Whatcha got there?” He gestured him over and Kushina moved back to her seat so Naruto could present his prize.

He held up the little vase, grinning boldly now that he had made it across the room without incident. “Flowers! Kaka-nii-chan bought them for you, but he said I could give them to you!”

Iruka blinked and looked back over at Kakashi, who was standing casually by the door and avoiding Iruka’s eye. He was holding two little boxes that Iruka could only assume held the promised dango. Iruka looked back at Naruto and carefully took the flowers from his little hands to place them on his bedside table. “They’re beautiful, Naruto-kun. Thank you.”

“Kaka-nii-chan picked them out,” Naruto reminded him. “I just helped.”

“Maa, Naruto-kun, you picked them-”

“Thank you, Kakashi-kun,” Iruka interrupted, smiling. “They’re lovely.”

Kakashi looked down, leaning back against the wall. “I’m glad you like them.”

“Well,” Minato said, looking like he was carefully concealing a smile. Kushina wasn’t even trying to hide her grin. “I think it’s time we head home. If that’s okay with you, Iruka-kun?”

Iruka nodded, folding his hands on his lap. “Yeah. I’m pretty tired, so I won’t be good company.”

“We’ll be back in the morning to pick you up, bright and early.” Kushina stood, gathering up her bag. “They’re just keeping you for the night so you can get a little extra rest.”

“I can’t wait,” Iruka said honestly, then added, “I was halfway through a really interesting movie when I suddenly had to leave.”

Kakashi snorted quietly, and Iruka glanced at him with a small grin.

“Well.” Minato laughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “We’ll set you up right in front of the TV, then.”

They all said their goodbyes, and Naruto clamored onto the bed once more to give Iruka a huge kiss on the cheek before they left. On their way out, Kakashi gave them a small bow and passed over one of the boxes of sweets he had returned with.

Kakashi didn’t move until the door was closed and he seemed satisfied that they’d gotten far enough away. He walked over and took a seat in the chair Minato had vacated. He opened the box in his hands carefully, offering up an array of dango skewers.

“Thank you.” Iruka picked one at random, watching Kakashi curiously. Kakashi kept his eyes down, closing the box. He set it to the side. “Are you okay?”

Kakashi looked up and leaned forward a bit, elbows braced on his knees. He finally met Iruka’s eyes, his gaze hesitant. “Yeah. Are you?”

Iruka took a bite of dango and chewed it over slowly, eyes dropping back to the sheet over his lap. “Sort of,” he said finally. “The Mizuki thing is sort of being overshadowed by the my-parents-were-ninja thing.” He looked back up. “Which I’m guessing you knew.”

Kakashi shook his head. “No. Not until yesterday.”

“But you are, right?” Iruka bit his lip. “A shinobi? Mizuki was right?”

Kakashi’s eyes took on a slightly resentful shine for just a moment. “I wouldn’t say he was right about anything,” he said drily. “I am, he may have guessed that. But I’m sure whatever details he shared with you are incorrect.”

“He said you killed someone when you were little. And that you have one of those weird types of old clans that starts training you when you’re really young.”

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Iruka again. “Partially true. My clan _is_ weird and old, but the only training I had when I was that young was taijutsu. And that was because I’m a prodigy.” He smiled, but even through the mask it looked small and bitter. “I had taijutsu training so that I would be more connected to my body, so that my chakra was kept under control until I was old enough to do more extensive training. I understood that, and I understood that my parents were shinobi and that I would be one day too.” A pause. “I wasn’t kidding when I called myself a genius. I just don’t think it’s a very good thing to be.”

Iruka set his half-eaten treat carefully on top of the box and shifted to face Kakashi a bit more. “What about the other part?”

“The killer part?” Kakashi arched a brow and sank back in his chair. “That’s true too. Sort of.” He rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head back. “My mom got discovered on a mission. Her mask was knocked off, she was recognized. They thought it was fine, but a week or so later, one of the members of the gang her team had been hired to handle managed to make it inside the walls and all the way to our house. He killed my mother.” He dropped his shoulders, looking down at his hands for a moment before meeting Iruka’s eyes again. “My dad was out on a mission. I caught the assassin while he was trying to leave. I was six, and I was fast. I slit his throat.” A pause. “It was hard, because he was so tall.”

A shiver crawled down Iruka’s spine unbidden. It was a horrible story. The idea of Kakashi, at the same age as Naruto, witnessing that and then having enough training and the mindset to- retaliate.

“I had more training after that,” Kakashi continued. “I was in a bit of a weird place, emotionally, so I had to do a lot of extra work to contain my chakra and make sure I wasn’t discovered. And that I wasn’t dangerous. But I still haven’t officially joined ANBU. I’ve gone on a few missions when there were no other trackers available.” Here, he tapped the side of his nose. “I’m very good at tracing smells. That’s how I found you in the forest. I was training with the ANBU who captured Mizuki across town when I got your message. That’s how I beat them to you.”

“You could smell me?” Iruka didn’t know why that made him blush.

“I can always smell you. You’re very- distinctive.” Kakashi blinked slowly, the picture of cool. But Iruka could see his ears turning just the barest shade of pink.

“So that’s why Obito told me not to worry, when you two came to get me from Mizuki’s house. You weren’t in any danger?”

Kakashi huffed a laugh, eyes crinkling. “No. I was certainly never in danger.” The lines around his eyes faded as he grew serious. “I was a danger to him. I very much wanted to break his arm, or worse. For scaring you so badly, and for hurting you. Obito was worried for him, not me.”

Iruka blinked, surprised. “You mean that?”

“Yeah. I do.” Kakashi looked back down at his hands. “Mizuki was right about that, I suppose. I am a very dangerous person.”

Iruka laughed before he could stop himself, covering his mouth with a hand. Kakashi looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise.

“What?”

“You’re not _dangerous._ ”

Now Kakashi just looked confused, brows furrowing. “Did- did you miss the part about me murdering a full grown criminal when I was six?”

“Because he killed your mother.” Iruka’s laughter died down, expression softening. “But with Mizuki, even though you were really, really angry you never hurt him. Not even after he hurt me. You just tried to restrain him and calm him down.”

“That’s only because I’ve had de-escalation training-”

“I don’t think everyone could have managed that kind of restraint.” He scooted closer to the edge of the bed and reached out, coaxingly. It took a minute, but Kakashi dragged his chair closer to take Iruka’s hand between both of his. “You’re always gentle. You try really hard not to hurt people and that’s- that’s really special, I think.”

Kakashi leaned forward, resting his cheek against the edge of the bed to meet Iruka at his eye level. His gaze was searching, and whatever he found in his inspection, he seemed to like because he slowly relaxed, letting out a breath. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Iruka smiled and squeezed his hands.

\---

Iruka must have dozed off, because some undetermined number of hours later, he woke up to the sound of an unfamiliar voice in his room. He opened his eyes slowly; it was dark, only the small lamp on his bedside table shedding any light across the room. Kakashi was standing a few paces away, holding something and speaking to a taller man.

“Kakashi-kun?” he mumbled, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He swallowed, making a face when he realized how thirsty he was.

Kakashi looked over with a start, and stepped across the room into the light. “Sorry- did we wake you?”

Iruka waved him off and rubbed his eyes, slowly shifting a pillow to prop himself up. “It’s alright. Who is it?”

“Ah-” Kakashi glanced over his shoulder. Iruka felt like there was a conversation he was missing, and then an older man with the same silver hair as Kakashi stepped forward. He also looked remarkably like Kakashi, with the same wide mouth and dark eyes. He lifted a hand in greeting. “Iruka-kun, this is my father, Sakumo-san. Otou-san, Iruka-kun.”

“Hello.” Sakumo smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Iruka blinked at him, and he was reminded immediately of the ANBU with the dog mask from the clearing. Same hair, same voice, and here he was with Kakashi. Then he remembered his safe word: hound.

It all clicked together startlingly well, and Iruka found himself at a loss for words, staring up at him in sleepy wonder. This was the father Kakashi had spoken of, who had taught him how to fish and who never did the dishes. This was also the ANBU who had appeared from nowhere and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. And his mask was part of Kakashi’s namesake.

Iruka realized abruptly that he was being incredibly rude and bowed his head to him, feeling himself flush. “Sakumo-san, it’s a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine.” He was still smiling when Iruka looked up, but it looked a bit more crooked, almost knowing. “I’m sorry to intrude. I was just dropping off some clean clothes for him.” He thumped a hand against Kakashi’s back, earning a vaguely annoyed look.

“No, no!” Iruka waved his hands. “It’s fine- I hope next time we can meet under better circumstances, when I’m not… completely bed bound.” He laughed awkwardly.

“I’m sure we will.” Sakumo had the same look Kakashi got when he was trying to smother a smile. “Have a good night.” He looked at Kakashi, raising a hand to ruffle his hair. “Try to rest.”

“Yes, chichi,” Kakashi mumbled. Sakumo left without another word, silence hanging in his wake. Iruka had to bite back a grin.

Kakashi shifted awkwardly. “I feel like we’ve both met each other’s parents too quickly. And that we should pretend that it isn’t embarrassing.”

“Agreed,” Iruka said. 

Kakashi excused himself to the tiny ensuite bathroom to change, and came back in a fresh mask, t-shirt, and sweatpants. When he returned and tried to sit, Iruka reached out quickly. “Um- are you going to stay the night?”

“Well.” Kakashi gestured to himself. “I was planning to.”

Iruka looked away, cheeks warming. “You can’t sleep in a chair. That’s bad for you.” He scooted to the side carefully. “And there’s room here, anyway.”

Kakashi blinked at him. “You’re hurt-”

“It would make me feel better.” He didn’t dare meet Kakashi’s eyes, his whole body tensed up and waiting for a rejection that was sure to come. He was being inappropriate, he knew that, but-

The bed dipped, and then Kakashi was very carefully arranging himself beside Iruka. Iruka shifted with him, eventually managing to settle comfortably with his cheek pillowed against Kakashi’s shoulder and one of Kakashi’s arms wrapped gingerly around him. 

“Thank you,” He murmured when they had finally relaxed together. He squeezed Kakashi’s waist, breathing in the clean smell of his fresh shirt.

“Any time.” He felt Kakashi’s lips brush against his temple through a thin layer of fabric. He closed his eyes, sighing softly. “Go to sleep, Iruka.”

“Okay,” he mumbled. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been so comfortable in his life.

\---

Iruka woke up abruptly the next morning to a very sudden shift in his bed, or more specifically, the person he’d been lying on top of. He hit the mattress suddenly enough to bounce, opening his eyes in a daze. Minato was standing at the door with a bag in his hand, blinking over Iruka’s shoulder with large eyes.

Iruka turned slowly to look where he was looking, and immediately laughed, any clinging sleepiness washed away. Kakashi was standing by the window with his hands casually tucked in his pockets. But his hair was mused, there were cloth imprints across his forehead, his eyes were barely open, and there was a suspicious wet mark on the front of his grey shirt that Iruka was positive was a drool mark from where he’d been sleeping on Kakashi’s chest.

Knowing that he drooled on his crush? Deeply embarrassing. Knowing that drool spot was a dead giveaway that he and Kakashi had been sleeping together? Hilarious.

If the surprised gasp Minato let out was any indication, he had also put the puzzle pieces together. Iruka collapsed back into the bed face first to conceal another round of giggles.

“Good morning!” Minato said, with highly affected cheer. “I brought you clothes!”

Iruka lifted his head and looked back over at him with a grin. “Thank you.” He sat up, stretching his arms above his head tentatively. He noticed that the sharp pain in his back had been reduced to a small twinge of discomfort. He dropped his arms with a sigh.

“Good morning, Minato-san,” Kakashi said suddenly. “If you’re here to pick Iruka-kun up, I should probably go-”

“Oh! Don’t leave on my account. Please, you’re welcome to walk home with us.”

“Oh. Ah.” Iruka looked back at Kakashi, who was rubbing the back of his neck, head down with the force of his discomfort. “Really, I should-”

“It would be no imposition! Actually, I insist, you can join us for breakfast-”

Iruka stood up and took the bag from Minato, heading into the bathroom. “You’re doing that thing again, ji-chan.”

“Thing?” Minato gave him a confused look.

“Where you’re overly polite?” Iruka stepped into the bathroom and looked back at him. “You know, to cover up that you’re a little uncomfortable.” He grinned at the immediate flush on Minato’s cheeks and shut the bathroom door.

He could just barely hear Kakashi and Minato’s very stilted conversation as he used the restroom and freshened up. In the mirror, he took a look at his back; what should have been a barely healed wound was no more than a line of fresh pink skin. It wasn’t so bad. He dressed, then brushed his hair, which took longer than anything else. By the time he came out changed and ready to go, they were both awkwardly gathering Iruka’s things.

“Are you coming with us, Kakashi-kun?” Iruka arched a brow.

“Only for the walk,” Kakashi said lightly. “My father wants me to come home, you see.”

“Oh, of course,” Iruka said, tone gently teasing.

\---

Iruka spent the next two days sleeping on and off. None of his friends visited, not even Kakashi, which was fine. He let himself submit to his exhaustion after more than a week of constant stress over Mizuki. And he let himself mourn Mizuki too, because even though who he had become wasn’t someone Iruka could be around, he was still once the boy Iruka had loved. But when Kushina called him downstairs the afternoon of his third day home, and he found Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Genma at his door, he was more than happy to see them. 

“Thank you for stopping by,” Iruka said. They had settled in at the kotatsu with tea and a tray of Minato’s homemade daifuku. He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to physically contain his affection. He had expected to see Kakashi, but to see that the rest of his new friends cared enough to visit too was a bit overwhelming.

“Of course,” Rin said. Obito beamed at him.

“Gai told me to tell you he’s sorry he missed it.” Genma smirked. “He’s still running his daily two-hundred laps. I bailed at fifty.”

“So that’s why you’re so sweaty.” Rin wrinkled her nose.

“That’s okay.” Iruka huffed a laugh.

“How are you feeling, Iruka-kun?” Obito asked. The sugar smudged at the side of his mouth made his earnest expression a little harder to take seriously.

“I’m feeling okay.” He smiled, glancing down at his fuzzy socks. “I’m all healed up, really. I never understood how amazing Konoha healers are.”

Rin seemed to blush a bit at that comment. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Iruka-kun. We were all so worried when Kakashi-kun told us what happened.”

“So much for protecting you from that bastard,” Genma said, handsome mouth crooked down in a scowl.

“Hey, that’s not your fault.” Iruka frowned at him across the table. “Like I told Kakashi-” He glanced over at the other boy, who was sitting beside him and sipping his tea through his mask with a mild expression. “-none of us knew he would do that, not even me.”

“Still. Maybe we should have-”

“No.” Iruka set his tea down forcefully, meeting Genma’s eyes. “It was no one’s fault. Please don’t be angry with yourself or wonder, senpai.”

Genma stared across the table at him, assessing, before relaxing back into the couch behind him. “I get why Ebisu likes it when you call him senpai,” he drawled. “It sounds _really_ nice.”

Iruka felt a familiar blush rise in his cheeks and he grinned sheepishly. “Hey…”

“So you met ANBU, huh?” Obito interjected. Kakashi flicked a mochi crumb across the table at Genma, nailing him right in the cheek. Genma flipped him off, smirking around his toothpick. Iruka turned his attention to Obito, clearing his throat over a chuckle.

“I did. If it hadn’t been under such dire circumstances, it would have been pretty amazing.” Iruka hummed, shifting to rest his chin on one folded knee. “It was still pretty amazing. You hear stories about them, and you see them at a distance, but it’s rare you get to really… see one.” And his parents had done that, too. His parents had been that amazing. It made him really happy to know that.

“What were they like?” Obito took another large bite of daifuku, cheek bulging out as he chewed.

“Oh, um.” Iruka hummed, glancing briefly at Kakashi. “Well, they really do wear animal masks. One of them was a dog, then it was a deer and…” He frowned, searching his memory for the last mask. “A turtle. On the one who took me to the hospital.”

Rin knocked over her nearly empty tea cup and hurried to right it, dabbing the damp table with her napkin. Iruka shifted forward to help her immediately and paused as he was leaning across the table. She looked up at him, blushing, with a strained little smile.

“You!” His eyes widened, realizing at last why the voice of his first healer had been familiar. “You’re-”

He was suddenly wrapped in a pair of arms, a hand over his mouth. Kakashi had pulled him back from the table to his seat on the floor, arms squeezing him gently. “Iruka-kun,” he said lightly. “For shinobi, it’s important to know without knowing. To see the underneath of the underneath. It would be far more dangerous to always hear things spoken as they truly are.”

Iruka wrinkled his nose, shooting Kakashi an irritated look before understanding in a flash. He pinked immediately and looked at Rin, who was folding her napkin in her lap, head bowed. Obito looked like he may vibrate out of his skin, his cheeks a hectic red. Genma was the only one still playing it cool, watching Iruka dispassionately.

Shinobi identities were secret, and they were secret for a reason. Having a hidden military made each village safer. In anonymity, there was less room to build and hold personal grudges between different villages. It protected the families of shinobi, and protected shinobi’s normal life from interference from their secret life. And Iruka had been seconds away from revealing Rin to the entire room- even though it seemed immediately clear to him now that everyone in the circle was also in the know.

Genma had mentioned working in the Hokage’s office after graduation and Iruka had shrugged it off, but now it made perfect sense. While playing sports, Genma was incredibly agile, faster than most other players. For all his jokes and teasing, he had a very cool demeanor- calm, level-headed, and sharp-eyed.

Obito was an Uchiha, and even if the clan mythos wasn’t entirely true, it still made it far more likely for him to be involved. On top of that, he was Kakashi’s best friend and Rin’s boyfriend, and had been both for years. Obito had been the one to know that Kakashi was in no danger against Mizuki, and had spoken to Kakashi like he’d been in similar situations with him before.

Even Gai made sense; he was the most dedicated athlete Iruka knew of, and his challenges to Kakashi regularly included some sort of sparring. Ebisu was too close to both Genma and Gai to not know, and even though he seemed a bit whiny, Ebisu was nearly as bright as Rin. Even Itachi-

Iruka slumped back into Kakashi, mind racing. He had been literally surrounded by up-and-coming shinobi and he’d had no idea. He would have never known if what happened with Mizuki hadn’t happened. He had been ignoring huge clues since he met them.

Kakashi lowered his hand from his mouth, arm crossing his chest instead. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” Iruka said, a little embarrassed by how awed he sounded.

“Of course,” Genma said casually, “To know more, you just have to go deeper, right? You can’t critique a teacher, until you’ve tried teaching.”

Iruka frowned at him, slumping back against Kakashi. So, to be able to talk openly about their hidden lives, he would also have to be a part of that world. Was that what Genma meant?

“How could I teach if I haven’t even graduated?” he asked after a moment, and hoped someone at the table understood the real question: how can I be a part of any of this if I’m underaged?

From the pleased look on Genma’s face, he had. “Oh, well I suppose you would have to start training to be a teacher. You can’t try teaching if you haven’t learned to teach.”

So he needed to start preliminary training, like Kakashi had been talking about. He nodded slowly, resting a hand on the arm across his chest thoughtlessly. If he’d been a little less distracted, he would have taken a moment to appreciate how comfortable being wrapped up in Kakashi’s arms was.

“But what if I take lessons and decide I never want to teach?”

“Just because you learn a skill doesn’t mean you have to use it,” Kakashi murmured, his voice right beside Iruka’s ear.

“Learning is fun.” Rin smiled, shoulders relaxing. “And we’re still your senpai, so, of course we’ll help you study.”

“You’ll have to ask your parents.” Kakashi released him with a last squeeze. “And that’s all we’ll say on it for now.”

Iruka settled back with his chin on his knee and nodded, little shivers of excitement coursing through him. “Okay- then tell me how it feels to be graduated?”

“I’m never touching a book again,” Obito said seriously.

“How many books did you ever actually _read?_ ” Rin teased.

“Oi!”

“I didn’t know you _could_ read,” Kakashi drawled. Iruka turned his head to watch him fondly, squeezing his arms around his own leg. Kakashi looked over at him, calm eyes going warm. He gave Iruka a brief wink before looking away again. One of his hands rested on top of Iruka’s foot for the rest of the visit.

\---

It was late in the evening by the time Iruka’s friends left. They had all stayed for dinner at Minato’s insistence, and left after dessert. After closing the door behind him, he went straight to Minato’s office.

Minato was sitting at his desk, jotting down notes in a scroll. Kushina was sitting in the comfy chair in the corner, reading. They both looked up when he tapped at the door.

“Everyone gone?” Kushina smiled.

“Yep.” He leaned against the doorway, tapping his toe lightly on the floor.

“I like your friends, Iruka-kun.” Kushina folded her book on her knee. “They’re very sweet.”

He grinned, rubbing his neck. “Yeah, they are. Thank you for inviting them for dinner.”

“Of course.”

Iruka hovered in the doorway for a moment, before clearing his throat. “I had a question.”

“Sure, shoot.” Minato set his pen down.

“Could I be a shinobi?”

Kushina’s jaw dropped, eyes widening comically. “What-”

“I just mean, like.” He waved his hand. “Do I even have what it takes? If I wanted to train? And maybe be a shinobi?”

“I honestly expected to hear this question from Naruto before you,” Minato mumbled, then spoke up, “Of course you could, Iruka.”

“What do you mean, of course?” He wrinkled his nose, relaxing against the doorway in relief. The thought that he might not even be able to train had cropped up halfway through dinner, and had been eating him up since.

“Why do you think we put you in yoga as soon as you came to live with us?” Minato tilted his head.

“I thought you were sadists who wanted me to suffer,” he said honestly, without thinking. Both of his guardians immediately looked crestfallen and he hurried to add, “But I like it a lot now! I’m grateful.”

“It was a way to connect you to your body and help you control your chakra without even knowing it,” Kushina clarified. “With breathing and movement, ya know. It’s a big part of learning chakra control.”

“After the upset of your parent’s death, your chakra was irregular. Your grief was manifesting itself partially as sort of… shockwaves, in your chakra. Do you remember being really achy when you first moved in?” Minato asked.

Iruka wrinkled his nose. “Not really.”

“You were.” Kushina smiled. “You complained of aches all the time, that’s how we figured it out. It happens to a lot of younger children with abilities like yours.”

“We were really surprised that you took to yoga as well as you did,” Minato admitted. “Hyuuga-sensei tells us you have very fine natural chakra control.”

“Hyuuga-sensei is-” Iruka cut himself off quickly, shaking his head. “Of course he is.”

Kushina grinned at him. “Been talking to your friends?”

“I’m knowing what I don’t know,” he said solemnly, mouth twitching up into a little grin.

“Very good!”

“If you’re really interested in starting more advanced training, Iruka-kun, we can arrange for it.” Minato looked pleased, and Iruka was suddenly even more glad he had asked.

“I would like that very much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing baby naruto, it is my one true joy in life.
> 
> as usual, hit me up on tumblr at [noodletastic](https://noodletastic.tumblr.com/) with any burning questions. the rest of the chapters will come out within the next two days!


	3. three

It took less than one day for Iruka to think that, maybe, he had made a terrible mistake. Apparently training started with an afternoon conditioning class focused primarily on taijutsu and all that it included. Iruka spent the first hour trying to learn the kata that the rest of his classmates shifted fluidly through. And then spent the second hour running through the woods with them along a designated course, his feet stuck firmly to the ground as they flew through the trees above him. Kakashi had run beside him, but even he occasionally leapt over roots or twisted past a tree in a way that made him seem just as superhuman as their peers.

Iruka collapsed beside Kakashi on their first break, snatching the water bottle from Kakashi’s hand with no preamble. He was sweaty, hot, and felt disgusting, if exhilarated. Maybe a little more disgusting, honestly. Nearby, Gai was still running, even though the ANBU who was leading their afternoon training had let them go for their break.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Kakashi drawled. He had barely broken a sweat, the bastard. Iruka shoved him with an elbow in retaliation.

“Yes. I’ve never had more fun.” He sniffed. Kakashi huffed a quiet laugh.

Apparently this class was a daily conditioning training available to any pre-enlistment shinobi candidates. Iruka had been surprised to recognize so many familiar faces, not just all of the friends he had suspected, but also several classmates he hadn’t. Izumo and Kotetsu from his year were there, along with Hayate and Kurenai from the class above them, and Kiba’s sister Hana. The ANBU leading them was Raidou, much acclaimed from many of Genma’s stories.

It was a bit overwhelming, if Iruka was honest.

“Really, though.” Iruka passed the water back to Kakashi, flashing him a grin when he shook the nearly empty bottle with a pout. “How do you do this everyday?”

“Oh, this?” Kakashi took a sip of water through his mask and Iruka rolled his eyes. “I don’t. I haven’t been to one of these since I was thirteen.”

Iruka balked. “That can’t be true!”

“I’ve been training since I was four, Iruka-kun. My current training is very different.” Kakashi’s eyes curved in those little crescents, and Iruka had to forcibly quell the butterflies in his stomach.

“You mean you did _this_ when you were four?”

“Of course not. I had private lessons.” His eyes curved further when Iruka made an incredulous noise. “I came to these from about… eight to thirteen, I think?” He tapped his chin, looking up at the sky. “Good memories.”

“You think it’s really funny that I’m struggling with this, don’t you?” Iruka narrowed his eyes at him.

“No.” Kakashi looked at him again, expression softening. “I think it’s very exciting. I look forward to seeing how much you grow.”

Iruka looked away, pretending to sulk to hide his pleased blush.

\---

Training took some getting used to, even though Iruka was far from out of shape. He liked to run and hike and explore, he just wasn’t really used to much focused exercise beyond yoga. But he adjusted quickly. Within two weeks, he was beginning to wake up eager to train. He was finally enjoying running, performing kata- even sparring, although for him sparring mainly consisted of getting his ass absolutely kicked. He didn’t need to be encouraged to do his stretches anymore, practically flying downstairs and to the garden each morning to get in a yoga session before breakfast. 

The new connection to his body made him feel alive. The energy he usually felt begging to escape had more than doubled, in a satisfying and frustrating way. It felt like there was an extra layer of power just out of his grasp that continued to buzz beneath his skin even when his muscles were exhausted. He just didn’t know how to get to it.

So, after class one afternoon in his third week, instead of following the rest of their friends for a post-training rest, Iruka grabbed Kakashi’s hand and pulled him to the side.

“Maa, Iruka, it’s dango day-”

“I want you to teach me how to use chakra,” Iruka interrupted, releasing Kakashi’s hand.

Kakashi blinked at him slowly, head tipping to the side. “What?”

“I know that I have chakra, and Hyuuga-sensei says I have good control. And I’m getting stronger, and faster- but I don’t know how to use chakra for anything. Everyone else here can do cool ninjutsu, and I don’t know anything.”

“Are you jealous?” Kakashi arched a brow.

Iruka considered lying and then remembered who he was speaking to. “Yes,” he said firmly, setting his feet. “I want to catch up to everyone else. But also...” He pressed his hand to his chest. “I think I can feel it more now. I feel almost- jittery. It’s like I’ve got more and more energy, no matter how much I try to burn it off.”

Kakashi hummed sympathetically, crossing his arms. “I see. What do you want to do? I’m sure you’ve seen what everyone else does. Would you like to breathe fire, like Obito? Or perhaps a clone, like Hayate.”

Iruka narrowed his eyes at him, irritation rising. “You’re teasing me. You really think I just want to look cool.”

“Why would you say that?” Kakashi asked calmly, straightening his shoulders.

Iruka straightened his shoulders too, lifting his chin in a challenge. “I’ll learn whatever you think is best, senpai. I just want to get stronger.”

“Ah…” He could see Kakashi smirk through his mask. “We’ll see.”

\---

Kakashi led him deeper into the forest, away from the hidden training ground where their class was hosted. They walked for maybe ten minutes before Kakashi stopped by a large tree, patting it firmly. “This is what we’re doing.”

Iruka stared at him, unimpressed. “What is?”

“This.” And then Kakashi stepped onto the tree, and walked straight up with his hands still tucked in his pockets as if he was taking a leisurely stroll, and not suspended horizontally off the ground. Iruka gaped, and Kakashi’s eyes closed in amusement again.

After getting back on solid ground, Kakashi spent over half an hour on an in depth lesson on chakra pathways and channeling chakra that Iruka personally believed even Rin would consider overkill. When he finally stood up to take on the tree himself, Kakashi stood nearby, still coaching.

“Focus on your body. Picture the energy inside you. You can already feel it. Imagine all of that energy moving towards your feet. Think of it like a magnet. If you’re doing it correctly, your foot will stick.”

Iruka closed his eyes, tentatively doing as Kakashi said. He lifted a foot after a moment, pressing it lightly to the bark. The sole of his sandal scraped right down, nothing working to adhere his foot at all. Iruka opened his eyes with a huff, glaring down at his feet.

“Keep trying,” Kakashi said. Iruka glanced over in time to see him sink down onto the ground by the next tree over, his battered copy of Icha Icha appearing from the depths of his pocket. Iruka’s mood only darkened.

He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. He let go of the fact that Kakashi seemed to think he was taking this all as a joke, even though it stung. He didn’t let it hurt his feelings, either, that Kakashi already seemed bored. He just focused on that energy he could feel simmering under his skin, breathing until it felt like it was expanding and contracting with his lungs. He pushed that feeling down, towards his feet, teeth gritting as he focused.

Again his foot slid down.

He focused again and tried once more. Another failure. Again and again, until-

Until, after fifteen minutes of fruitlessly kicking the bark, he lifted his foot and felt it stick. He tried to tamp down his excitement, raising the next foot quickly while he still had the control-!

And the next thing he knew, he was launching away from the tree, the sharp sound of exploding bark filling the clearing. Iruka threw his arms over his head as he flew through the air, only to be caught almost immediately against Kakashi’s chest. He blinked up at him, shocked.

And Kakashi looked positively thrilled, his eyes bright. “Iruka! You did it!”

“Huh?” Iruka wrinkled his nose at him, looking back at the tree. There was a mark in the shape of his foot left behind. “I definitely didn’t walk up the tree-”

“You directed chakra!” Kakashi turned him around, holding him at arm’s length. “Do you understand how amazing that is?”

“Don’t exaggerate-”

“I’m not.” Kakashi shook his head, excitement simmering down to a look of glowing approval. “I was teasing you, earlier, because I thought you were being overconfident. Most people have to train for months before they’re ready to direct chakra, you know.”

Iruka jerked a little, eyes widening. “That’s- no, that can’t be true.”

“It is,” Kakashi said firmly. “I didn’t think you’d be able to do it today, but that’s one of the first exercises you’d learn anyway, so I didn’t see the harm… Iruka-kun, I am very impressed.”

Iruka blinked at him and slowly grinned, cheeks flushing. “You mean it?”

“I mean it. Hyuuga-sensei must be right about your chakra control.” Kakashi smiled back, and made a surprised noise when Iruka leapt forward, arms thrown around his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around Iruka anyway, lifting him off of his feet.

“Thank you, senpai,” Iruka said honestly, pressing his cheek against Kakashi’s shoulder. “For teaching me. I thought you didn’t think I could do it-”

“I didn’t, but not because I didn’t believe in _you_ , so much as I didn’t know how much you’d already learned.” Kakashi kept him in his arms, his feet suspended about an inch from the ground. It made Iruka feel a bit giddy. “I don’t know why I doubted you. You’re full of surprises, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka squeezed him tighter, his face aching from his grin. “I learn from the best.”

\---

It seemed that managing to channel chakra was light years away from the ability to actually mold that chakra and use it for absolutely anything. For the next few weeks, Iruka went straight from conditioning to tree-walking. For the first three days, only Kakashi joined him. He still spent most of the afternoon reading, but Iruka knew he wasn’t being ignored. He gave occasional pointers, and at the end of each day applauded Iruka for how far he’d gotten that day.

He’d yet to make it more than six paces up the tree when Obito and Rin joined them. Rin showed him how she could channel chakra to her hands on the visible spectrum. The soft green glow on her palms, the same technique she had used to heal him, was entrancing. Obito joined him in his tree-training, begrudgingly admitting that while he was fairly skilled with several different jutsu, he still struggled to maintain consistent chakra molding.

He made it up the tree within five minutes, but seeing him struggle to keep concentrating while Kakashi hurled casual insults from the ground was still encouraging.

The next day Genma showed up with Raidou at his side. It was his first time meeting Raidou outside of training, and Iruka liked him almost immediately. He was a year older than the rest of them, with a year in active duty under his belt.

“I started training when I was thirteen,” he explained to Iruka on one of his breaks. “So I was a bit behind these guys.” He nodded towards Kakashi and Genma. “It took me a long time to catch up. I’m a bit clumsy,” he admitted sheepishly. The twisted burn scar on his left cheek crinkled with his grin. “But I managed. And now they have to call _me_ senpai.”

It was also fascinating to see Genma around Raidou. Something about him softened, just barely, and it took Iruka almost the whole afternoon to realize what it was; Genma was almost always watching Raidou with quiet adoration. He was still cracking jokes and talking in circles with Kakashi, but he didn’t tease Iruka once. So this was why Genma, with all his charm, had never mentioned dating.

On the sixth day, when Iruka had managed to make it almost fifteen steps up the tree, Itachi joined them after they’d already been in the clearing for over an hour.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Itachi said. He had brought them each an anpan roll, and stayed to eat with them. Iruka didn’t realize how hungry he’d gotten until he took a bite, and then he had to resist the urge to shove the whole thing in his mouth.

“You know,” Itachi said when they were done. “Maybe we’ll be able to teach Sasuke and Naruto to tree walk together.”

Iruka blinked at him, hands occupied with re-tying his hair. “Huh?”

Itachi smiled softly, hands folded in his lap. “Sasuke will probably start training in the next year or so. I think Kushina-san and Minato-san plan to start training Naruto-kun at the same time, so that Sasuke doesn’t need to keep it a secret from him.”

“They’re young for that, right?” Iruka frowned.

“I started training when I was four.”

“He’s also part of the genius club.” Kakashi turned a page in his book, glancing at Iruka.

“Most Uchiha begin training young,” Itachi said modestly. “They won’t get to this stage for a while yet. They’ll start with basic meditation and taijutsu.”

Iruka laughed, leaning back against his tree. “I can’t imagine Naruto meditating. He’ll go mad.”

“Not if he sees his ototou doing it too.” Itachi smiled again, and stood. “I won’t keep you from your training.”

Gai and Ebisu came the very next day. Gai gave him a rousing speech about Youth and Determination that Iruka did his best not to get irritated by, since he knew it was all coming from a good place. Afterward, when Kakashi and Gai disappeared to do one of their ridiculous challenges, Ebisu watched Iruka practice for a few minutes in silence. He had been hitting the same mark on the tree for the past two days, and now he was getting too angry with himself to focus.

When Iruka fell to the ground for the third time, Ebisu walked over to help him back to his feet. “You know,” he said, “Sometimes it can help if you visualize your chakra.”

“I’m doing that,” Iruka snapped.

“How?” Ebisu crossed his arms behind his back, staring at him through his dark glasses.

Iruka faltered, blinking at him. “Um. Well, it’s like- it’s like water. I just- push the water where I want it to go.”

Ebisu shook his head. “No, no, no- that will never work. You can’t control the flow of water, not really. You need a different picture, something you can control.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, looking up at the tree. “If you can visualize it more clearly, it will help you mold it. I think of mine like links in a chain.”

“Sure,” Iruka said doubtfully. But by the end of the day, he’d tentatively begun thinking of his chakra as a bobbin of thread, and made it twenty steps further up the tree than he’d been able to before. He could admit that he certainly owed Ebisu a little gratitude, the next time he saw him.

It took nearly two weeks for Iruka to make it almost to the top of the tree. He had another fifteen or so steps to go between him and the highest point. As he progressed, Kakashi had caught him more than once when he gotten distracted or accidentally blasted another hole into the trunk and sent himself into free-fall. It was happening less and less now, as Iruka improved his chakra molding and learned to catch himself on branches or recover enough to land on his own two feet. Iruka was a bit disappointed not to have an excuse to be wrapped in Kakashi’s arms, but the finish line was in sight and he did his best not to let his thoughts wander to his stalwart friend.

On the day Iruka knew, could just feel it in his _bones_ , that he was going to make it to the top, Minato and Kushina joined them in the clearing. He was halfway up the tree when they arrived, and he promptly fell with a shout. Kakashi caught him once more, cradling him safely above the ground. Iruka didn’t have a chance to get comfortable before he was being put back on his feet, huffing in barely concealed embarrassment.

“Why are you guys here?” He crinkled his nose, putting his fists on his hips. “You distracted me.” He heard Kakashi exhale a laugh and shot him a look.

“Kakashi-kun invited us.” Minato was staring at him in shocked awe, and Kushina was looking up the tree with a delighted grin. “But he didn’t tell us this was what we were coming to see.”

“You can really make it all the way up there?” Kushina shielded her eyes and squinted dramatically up the tree.

“I haven’t made it to the top yet.” He deflated, crossing his arms in a sulk. “I’ve been working at it for weeks.”

“And today you’re going to make it,” Kakashi said calmly. Iruka jerked his head around to look at him, surprised. He hadn’t said anything about that expectation to Kakashi. Kakashi was already looking at him, eyes curved in a warm smile. “I thought they might like to see it, Iruka-kun.”

Inexplicably, Iruka felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He looked away and blinked quickly. “Well- alright, then,” he mumbled.

“Come on, let’s see it!” Kushina grabbed his arm, giving him a little shake of excitement. “You can do it, Iruka-kun!” Minato had walked over to Iruka’s tree, touching the broken bark in wonder.

Iruka let himself be shaken, a timid smile crossing his face unbidden. “I might not make it the first time,” he warned.

“I just want to see you try.” Kushina tugged him over to the tree and pulled Minato away, giving him space.

“You can do it,” Minato repeated, smiling at him. Iruka gave them a last glance and then turned to the tree, looking up the familiar stretch of wood. He took a breath and started his ascent at a run, nerves prickling under his skin. He made it less than halfway before he lost his concentration and blasted a hole into the bark. He used the momentum to roll into a backflip, skidding across the ground in a crouch.

“Try again,” Kakashi said immediately. Iruka clenched his teeth and stepped back up to the tree.

“You’ve got it,” Kushina said, voice light. 

Iruka stopped at the base of the tree once more and closed his eyes. Focusing on his chakra was easy now, and instead of a throbbing mass of energy that he pushed through his body in uncontrollable waves, it was gathered in a neat spool at his center. He tugged from it, imagining threads moving through his body and weaving tightly at the bottom of his feet. He let out a long breath and stepped up. 

Then he stepped again, then a third step, before inching into a run. He opened his eyes to watch where he was stepping, leaning out of the way of a branch as he zipped past it. He kept his focus on his feet, letting the threads of energy inside him ceaselessly flow into his soles until it felt as natural as breathing. He could see the top of the tree, where it grew into a spindly point, and kept going. He hit the point where he usually lost focus and redoubled his attention, flying past the battered bark until-

Until he was clinging to the trunk at the highest point he could reach, above the strongest branches and their leaves. He stared out across the canopy of the forest, breath catching in his chest as he looked around. He could see to the edges of the forest, to where the trees thinned and Konoha began.

He had never felt so powerful in his life.

Below him, there was cheering. It was mostly Kushina, who was yelling at the top of her lungs. Looking down, Iruka could see her bouncing in place, arms windmilling in excitement. Minato was calling up praise from beside her, one hand cupped around his mouth to amplify his voice. To the side, Kakashi stood as easy as ever, peering up at him. He was too far to truly see, but he seemed to know when Iruka was looking at him, and held out his arms in invitation.

Iruka jumped, careening through the branches with an electrified howl. Kakashi caught him against his chest, swinging him in a wide circle. Iruka wrapped his arms around his shoulders, howls turning into delighted laughter. Kakashi slowed his spinning, letting Iruka’s toes graze the grass before setting him fully on his feet. Iruka pulled back just enough to press an excited kiss to Kakashi’s cheek, before letting him go completely to jump into Kushina’s waiting arms, screaming and spinning with her. Minato wrapped them both in a hug, eyes teary and a proud smile stretched across his face.

\---

Iruka made it to the top two more times before calling it a day. He went home for dinner, and then had a very long bath. Kakashi had warned him about chakra exhaustion, and while he hadn’t gotten all the way there, he did ache in ways he never had before. He put himself to bed early, crawling beneath his blankets and settling in to read a book about beginner seals that Minato had given him when he’d asked for more information about what different shinobi could do.

(Apparently, Uzumaki’s were master seal crafters, and Minato had decided to impress Kushina’s family by learning as much about seals as he could- and had accidentally stumbled upon his signature jutsu style along the way. He had promised to share it with Iruka when he finished the book, and had only been willing to say that it made him very, very fast.)

He was beginning to doze when there was a tap at his window. He looked up to see Kakashi crouched on the roof outside, wiggling his fingers in his typical greeting. Iruka dropped his book and scurried over to open the window.

“What are you doing here?”

“Maa, Iruka-kun. That’s not a very friendly greeting.” Kakashi pouted.

Iruka caved immediately, mild irritation at the unexpected visit vanishing. “Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly. “Hi.”

The pout disappeared, replaced by a warm smile. “Hi.”

They just stood there for a long moment, staring at each other across the windowsill before Iruka tapped his shoulder gently. “Move out of the way.”

Kakashi arched a brow, but did as told. Iruka lifted himself through the window, climbing out beside Kakashi. It was still warm even with the sun down, balmy despite the faint breeze. Iruka crawled past him to where the roof widened, and laid back on the clay tiles. They were still warm from the sun. Kakashi shifted to lay beside him and they both gazed up at the stars.

“I’m really proud of you,” Kakashi said after a while.

Iruka huffed a laugh, rolling his head to look at him. “Thank you, senpai,” he quipped.

“I mean it.” Kakashi turned his head towards him, eyes calm. “I’m grateful that you’re letting me help you. It’s an honor.”

Iruka blinked at him, feeling pinned under his steady gaze. He felt his cheeks warm and glanced away. “It’s no big deal,” he deflected.

“It’s a big deal to me.”

Iruka kept his eyes on the stars, biting his lip. His body felt reenergized suddenly, the exhaustion from his training erased. But it was different, like every nerve-ending was tingling in quiet anticipation of _something._ It made his belly turn with nerves, and he noticed that he couldn’t quite keep his hands from trembling where they rested against his stomach.

“You know,” Kakashi said after some time. “When we first met, you irritated me.” Iruka turned his head to look at him, but Kakashi was looking at the stars once more.

“I did?”

“Mm.” Kakashi shifted his back against the tile, tucking one arm behind his head like a pillow. “You did. I wasn’t very happy that day, or that week. I assisted on a mission the week before.” A pause. “It didn’t go well. No one died, but someone was injured. I thought it was my fault at the time. I still think it’s my fault.”

Iruka was dying to ask, but he didn’t, watching him curiously.

“I was angry. That I’m expected to spend the rest of my life doing missions and taking risks like that. Chichi and I got into an argument over it.” His brow wrinkled, just a bit. “He didn’t seem to want to understand where I was coming from. Why I had concerns about being shinobi, when he’s shinobi, and all our ancestors before him. The Hatake clan has always been small, but proud. I think he felt like I was insulting that.”

“You don’t want to be a ninja?” Iruka whispered.

“I do,” Kakashi corrected. “I love Konoha. I want to protect it, and the people who live here, and I want to play a part in keeping the world at peace. It’s hard not to, once you’ve had the opportunity to go out and see the places that aren’t as… calm as Konoha.” He shook his head, like he was dispelling an unpleasant thought. Iruka thought of Minato telling him about the emotional toll on child soldiers.

“I was just having doubts, that’s all. A passing frustration.” He sighed, eyes tracking a shooting star above them. Iruka could only see how it reflected in his eyes. “I was trying to take a moment to myself. Obito and Rin- they were trying to be supportive, but I felt like I was being smothered. I just wanted to spend an hour on my own, where I didn’t have to worry about being a shinobi, or about my family, or about my friends.” He paused again, and Iruka watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. 

“And then who comes along but some loud little boy?” Kakashi shook his head faintly. “I had chosen that place specifically to be alone, and then you barged in. You didn’t even notice me at first, you just started stretching and taking up all this space... As soon as you noticed me, you started jabbering and all I could think was, _fuck_ this kid. I wanted you to leave, so of course you stayed.” He snorted softly, just a little huff of air from his nose. “And you wouldn’t stop staring at me.” He cut a look in Iruka’s direction. “Not that much has changed.”

Iruka looked back at the stars quickly, feigning innocence as his cheeks and chest heated. “I was not,” he lied.

“Mmhm.” Kakashi sounded amused, and continued, “And then you asked me about my clan, one of the many things I was avoiding thinking about.” Iruka winced a little, flexing his toes in delayed embarrassment over his behavior. “And you were trying so hard to be proper and just fumbling all over yourself and it was... endearing. Unwanted, but endearing. You didn’t even seem to notice that I was teasing you. Then your little boyfriend showed up, with his bad attitude, and I was just grateful to see you go.”

Kakashi went quiet again, and Iruka snuck a peek from the corner of his eye. His eyes were on the stars once more, faint lines at the corners of his eyes betraying that he was smiling beneath his mask. “And then I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Just kept turning the whole interaction in my head over and over again. I’m not sure why. I had no reason to think I would see you again, but then there you were a few days later. I watched you stretch for about five minutes, you know.”

Iruka couldn’t stifle an offended gasp, rolling his head to the side. “You watched me?”

“Mmhm.” Kakashi looked over at him, eyes curved happily. “You look very serious when you stretch.”

“Was I a little less annoying?” he asked lightly, internally screaming for him to say yes. His ego was feeling a bit deflated through most of this story, if he was honest. Maybe it was the passage of time, but he could have sworn he’d been a bit cooler than that.

“Much less,” Kakashi agreed, still looking over at him calmly. “You were clever. Didn’t back down when I teased you, looked away when I pulled down my mask…” He hummed. “If you hadn’t caught my attention before, you had it fully by the time you left that day.”

Iruka couldn’t meet his eyes any longer, looking away quickly. That buzzing feeling, just under his skin, was back at full force, and he couldn’t stop himself from fidgeting with the drawstring on his sleep pants, just for something to do.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Kakashi said, matter-of-fact. “I wanted to see you, and then you stopped coming around. I blamed myself for it, because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about your boyfriend.” A pause. “Probably because I was a bit irritated that you had a boyfriend, now that I think about it.”

“Kakashi…”

“So imagine my surprise, running an errand with Obito and getting to see you. Then you started coming back around.” He hummed. “You’re very easy for me to talk to. It’s fascinating, to me. So when I realized the extent of what was happening with Mizuki…” He took a deep breath. “I was angrier than I’d like to admit. I wanted to help you.” He let the breath out again. “So it _is_ an honor, Iruka, to be with you for this part of your journey. To be someone you trust. I’m honored.”

That feeling under his skin was reaching a boiling point, silently urging him to do something, do something, do _anything_. He looked at Kakashi again with wide eyes, and felt like he was going to tremble apart if he didn’t move. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Kakashi murmured back. His eyes moved briefly to Iruka’s lips, and the glance made every one of Iruka’s nerve-endings sing. He moved before he could stop himself, scooting over the tiles to press a kiss to Kakashi’s mouth through the thin fabric of his mask. He pulled away as quickly as he had leaned in, the tingling beneath his skin turning into racing static electricity. He felt a bit light headed with it, eyes locked on Kakashi’s.

Had he done that? He had, hadn’t he?

Kakashi looked almost as shocked as Iruka felt, his usually impassive eyes wide. Iruka tried to scoot away and one of Kakashi’s hands snapped up to catch his shoulder whip-quick, holding him in place. His fingers were gentle though, more of a caress than anything else.

“Wait,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry-”

“I told you I wanted to, when you were ready,” Kakashi interrupted, his eyes still wide and intent. It made Iruka want to squirm, energy building towards a fever pitch. “Are you ready?”

Iruka nodded a little, not trusting himself to speak. Ready felt like an understatement suddenly. _Ready_ felt like a feeling he had flown past weeks ago. Now, he was so eager it hurt, one hand clenching in the front of Kakashi’s shirt helplessly. “Yeah,” he said, barely able to stop it from coming out as a whine.

Kakashi lifted his free hand to tug down his mask. Iruka’s eyes moved down to his mouth immediately, heart hammering inside his chest. He slowly pulled his eyes back up to Kakashi’s, vaguely aware that he was holding his breath. Kakashi stared back at him for what felt like ages before he finally leaned in, kissing Iruka at last.

It was achingly gentle, just a press of soft, dry lips, but it turned the static under his skin into fireworks. When Kakashi pulled away after just a moment, Iruka didn’t recognize the needy little noise of protest he let out before tugging Kakashi forward again for a proper kiss. Kakashi made a soft sound before pressing into it eagerly. He shifted just enough to hover over Iruka on one elbow, changing the angle of the kiss into something with a bit more mobility as their lips parted. 

Iruka couldn’t tell which way was up, which way was down, and he would have been hard-pressed to remember his own name. Every ounce of his attention was narrowed down to where Kakashi was touching him. He had one delicate hand on Iruka’s hip, barely a touch through the fabric of his shirt. His other hand was cupping Iruka’s cheek, fingers curved behind his ear and into his hair in a way that made lightning zip up his spine, while his thumb brushed gently against his cheekbone. Their bodies were just barely touching where they lay. It was more of a drag of fabric than actual contact, but it made Iruka’s head feel foggy.

Then there was the way Kakashi kissed. He had moved past the initial shock to kiss with purpose, his mouth demanding and generous. He kissed like he had accepted a challenge, and that challenge was to learn each corner of Iruka’s mouth and to find which places made him arch closer. 

It was also far too brief. Before Iruka realized what was happening, Kakashi was drawing back, panting, his lips pink and wet and Iruka thought: I did that. He made a tiny, unintentional sound, trying to draw Kakashi back down. Kakashi held firm, a solid wall of muscle that couldn’t be budged no matter how hard Iruka tugged at his shirt. The best he got was Kakashi tipping his head forward to brush their noses together, his eyes darker than Iruka had ever seen them.

“You parents are home,” Kakashi said, a bit breathless. “And I’m not stupid enough to think they don’t know I’m here.”

Iruka deflated a little, but he didn’t let go of Kakashi’s shirt. He cupped the side of his neck with his other hand, tentatively petting the rarely visible skin with his thumb. “Just a little more?” he mumbled. “Please?”

Kakashi’s lips quirked up, amused, and he pressed another quick kiss to Iruka’s mouth before rolling to lay beside him again, hands to himself. Iruka didn’t feel like he had the energy to follow him, the electricity that had been ripping through his body diffusing into a gentle buzz. He had to catch his breath, staring up at the stars, his pounding heart slowing back to it’s regular pace.

He had never had a kiss like that before. He had never, not once, felt so completely engaged in what was happening. Kisses with Mizuki were- fun, exciting, nerve-wracking, and eventually familiar, but Iruka never got lost in them. He had always been thinking while they kissed, worried that he was doing it wrong or if he was reacting right. Finally kissing Kakashi… it felt like the earth had moved beneath them, like Iruka would wake up tomorrow and everything would be just a little different.

He shifted carefully across the roof to tuck himself against Kakashi’s side. Kakashi made space for him, arm curling behind him so that Iruka could lay against his shoulder. He hadn’t pulled his mask back up, so Iruka brushed his nose hesitantly against the bare skin. When Kakashi just tugged him a little closer, Iruka relaxed and let himself breathe him in.

“Do you ever wonder how long it would take to reach the stars?” Kakashi murmured.

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Iruka closed his eyes, draping an arm over Kakashi’s stomach.

“Maa, Iruka-kun, that’s no fun,” Kakashi whined. Iruka smiled.

\---

More than a week passed and Iruka and Kakashi didn’t really talk about their kiss. But the afternoon after his roof-top visit, Kakashi had tugged Iruka behind a tree on the training field to kiss him again. Two days later, Iruka had pulled him into the alley beside the tea shop and tugged down his mask to kiss him once more. 

The next time was on the veranda of the Uchiha house outside Obito’s room. Kakashi and Obito had invited Iruka over to hang out - and apparently, get high.

“We don’t smoke a lot,” Obito said as he manually fanned the smoke out of his room and into the garden. “It’s not, like, safe, especially now that we know we could be pulled away on a mission at any time, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Iruka agreed, staring at him as he continued waving away the haze that lingered in the room. Obito talked a lot when he was high, apparently, and Iruka couldn’t quite follow.

“So, we only do it like once a month when we know we aren’t gonna have to like-” Here, Obito held up his fists in a vague fighting gesture. “Ya know? So, like, this is a real treat-”

“Shut up,” Kakashi said mildly. He was leaning against the wall beside Iruka, his eyes hooded.

“It’s just, like, the only thing that can really turn the like. Constant vigilance off.” Obito closed his door and flopped back down on the opposite side of the table. “You’ll understand once you’ve trained a little longer. It’s not, like, taboo, ya know? Lots of shinobi do it when they’re on like… sabbatical. It’s like, really good for mission recovery.”

“Okay,” Iruka said pleasantly. He tipped to the side, leaning against Kakashi’s side with a sigh. “Whoa.”

Kakashi huffed a laugh, draping an arm across his shoulders. Iruka sighed, hugging his knees to his chest. “You okay?”

“Warm,” Iruka said happily.

Several minutes later (or maybe an hour or maybe more), Iruka decided that he was actually very hungry, thank you, and made Kakashi escort him to the kitchen to gather snacks. When they returned to Obito’s room, before Iruka could open the door, Kakashi pulled down his mask and leaned in to give him a quick peck. Thoughtlessly, Iruka dropped his armful of snacks. He grabbed Kakashi instead, reeling him into another kiss. Kakashi complied with a laugh. The kiss deepened quickly and Kakashi backed him into the wall beside Obito’s door. Iruka felt warm all over, and very small between Kakashi and the wall, and wow kissing could be so nice, he’d never known, he’d never known how nice-

Iruka’s hands had just begin to wander towards the tail of Kakashi’s shirt when a door on the opposite side of the veranda opened.

Kakashi moved away quickly, drawing his mask up as he knelt down to gather their abandoned snacks. Iruka looked dazedly across the garden. Sasuke was leaping off the veranda and onto the stepping stones, heading towards the koi pond. Fugaku stepped out after him, giving both of them a mild, unimpressed look.

“Good evening, Kakashi. Iruka.”

Kakashi straightened back up, his arms loaded down with snacks. “Good evening, Fugaku-san,” he drawled.

Iruka giggled helplessly and managed a half-hearted wave before Kakashi pushed him back into Obito’s room.

Kakashi, Rin, and Obito left together on their first official mission a week later. When Kakashi came to tell him that they were leaving for a few days, he kissed him again as they said their goodbyes in the genkan of the Uzumaki-Kamikaze house. It was short, and sweet, and when Kakashi pulled back, he was looking at Iruka with warm eyes.

“You’ve gotten taller,” he murmured.

“I’ll be taller than you,” Iruka challenged, flexing his hands in the front of Kakashi’s shirt. “Wait and see.”

Kakashi hummed. “We’ll see.” He kissed him again, and then he stepped back, pulling his mask up.

“Good luck on your trip.” Iruka smiled, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll make you proud,” Kakashi agreed. He winked, and then he was gone, vanishing in a swirl of leaves that disappeared before they hit the ground.

Iruka laughed, shaking his head. “Show off,” he mumbled.

\---

Training was lonely without Kakashi. Iruka noticed that all of his friends were gone, actually. Genma, Gai, and Ebisu were missing when Iruka went looking for them a few days after Kakashi’s departure. Sasuke had sullenly informed him one afternoon that Fugaku had taken Itachi on a business trip. It was nice to have Izumo and Kotetsu around, but it wasn’t quite the same. Even Raidou had been replaced by the ANBU with the deer mask at afternoon drills.

(One afternoon, Iruka went to him when they were released, and bowed, murmuring a quiet thank you for his help on that day, with Mizuki. The ANBU had put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and said, “I’m glad to see you well, Iruka-kun.”)

Afternoons with Kakashi were replaced by afternoons reading in Minato’s office. Seeming to notice Iruka’s melancholy, Minato had taken a day off to train him on introductory seals. Making tags was interesting enough to distract Iruka, even when his attempts at exploding tags led to nothing more than tiny sparks and his barrier seals barely held for five seconds.

A week passed, and Kakashi still wasn’t home. Itachi returned the day after Kakashi was due to return, and assured Iruka over tea that sometimes deadlines were flexible, and not to worry.

Three days later, Genma, Gai, and Ebisu returned and took him out for ramen. When Iruka asked about Kakashi’s team again, they all shrugged it off too.

“Missions can take longer than we expect,” Genma said, while Gai slurped down noodles beside him. “We were only supposed to be gone for four days and it took six. Nothing happened, the objective was just a little more complicated than the parameters suggested.”

Three more days passed. Iruka could now set a solid barrier shield, as long as he could place four corner tags, and Kakashi, Rin, and Obito still had not returned.

Fifteen days had passed by the time Iruka received news of their return. Hayate mentioned something about his father saying he had seen them in the mission room, and Iruka bailed on the rest of his afternoon drills to make a hasty trip to the Hatake compound.

Iruka had never been invited to Kakashi’s home. Like the Uchiha compound, it was very old, though much smaller. It was surrounded by a high, solid fence, though the main gate was open, revealing a short cobblestone path to the front door. Iruka hovered outside the gate for a while, excitement over Kakashi’s return warring with his manners.

His excitement won out, and he knocked on the door.

Sakumo was the one to answer. Iruka noticed that he was wearing house slippers, which seemed deeply antithetical to the Sakumo Iruka had met before.

“Iruka-kun.”

Iruka bowed quickly. “Hello, Sakumo-san. I- someone told me that Kakashi had returned, and I was hoping I would find him here.”

Sakumo studied him silently, hand still on the front door. “I don’t know that Kakashi wants visitors right now, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka felt himself deflate, shoulders sinking. He tried to fight off the immediate wave of disappointment. “Oh. Well, I just wanted to welcome him home. Are you sure…?”

“I’m sure. He needs to rest.” Sakumo didn’t move, his face completely impassive in a way Kakashi’s never quite managed to be. Iruka wondered if that was why Kakashi wore his mask.

“Could you tell him I came?” Iruka straightened his shoulders a bit, suddenly unwilling to look weak in front of this man.

“If you wish.” Sakumo adjusted his grip on the door. “If that’s all?”

“Chichi, who’s there?”

Iruka blinked and shifted to try and see around Sakumo at the soft call of Kakashi’s voice. Sakumo didn’t move, arching a brow when Iruka stepped a bit closer.

“It’s one of your friends,” Sakumo called back. “But I told him you’re resting.”

There was a long pause, and then Kakashi spoke again, still out of view of the doorway. “Who is it?”

There was a brief flash of exasperation across Sakumo’s face, there and gone. He looked over his shoulder, his body still blocking Iruka’s view. “You’re the one that told me to send visitors away, Kakashi.” There was a long stretch of silence. “It’s Iruka-kun,” he said at last.

There was another long pause, before Kakashi spoke again. “He can come in.”

“Kakashi-”

“It’s fine, chichi.”

Sakumo gave a world-weary sigh and stepped out of the way, looking back at Iruka. “Come in.”

Iruka bowed again and stepped inside after Sakumo. He expected to see Kakashi when he crossed the threshold, but he didn’t expect to see Kakashi in soft pajamas, maskless, with a large swath of bandages wrapped over his left eye. Iruka stopped dead, horror clenching his stomach.

Kakashi leaned against the wall, gazing back at him impassively. The silence lingered for longer than Iruka was comfortable with, but he couldn’t manage to open his mouth. He wanted to know what had happened, if his eye was okay, if _he_ was okay, but all he could do was stare.

“You should see the other guy,” Kakashi drawled at last.

It was enough to spur Iruka into action. He kicked off his sandals clumsily and stepped into the hallway, moving towards Kakashi without a plan in mind. He stopped just before him, meeting his one visible eye with worry. “What happened?”

Kakashi’s right eye curved in a sweet little crescent, as it always did, his mouth lifting in a crooked grin. “I’m home,” he said.

“Welcome home,” Iruka replied automatically.

\---

Kakashi wouldn’t say a word about it until they had made a pot of tea and retired to his bedroom.

Kakashi’s bedroom, much like Obito’s, had very traditional architecture. It was neater, no mess scattered about beyond the ruffled grey blankets on his bed. He didn’t have posters, but he did have a few photos clustered on top of his dresser, and a bizarre painting of a group of dogs playing cards above his bed.

Iruka managed to keep his mouth shut up until the moment they had settled at Kakashi’s circular chabudai, with a cup of tea in both of their hands. “What happened?” he repeated, staring sternly at Kakashi.

Kakashi took a sip of his tea, one elbow braced on the table, his chin in his hand. Iruka noticed another bandage around his right upper arm, just barely peeking from beneath his shirt sleeve. “There’s only so much I can tell you.”

“Then tell me,” Iruka insisted. “I’ll put together what you can’t.”

Kakashi smiled faintly, and Iruka was careful not to stare at his covered eye. “You’re very demanding.”

“Kakashi, I am _worried_.” Iruka’s voice cracked, and he noticed how Kakashi’s eye widened in surprise. “You were due back a week ago, and then when you finally make it back, I don’t hear a word, and you’re _hurt_ -”

The hand not supporting Kakashi’s chin settled on Iruka’s knee, a gentle, reassuring weight. “Iruka. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine!” he snapped. And then he immediately bowed his head, clenching his fists in his lap. “Everyone kept telling me you were fine, but you aren’t-”

“I am.” Kakashi squeezed his knee gently. “I’m sorry I scared you. It wasn’t my intent.”

“I know that!” Iruka let out a breath, shoulders slumping down. He delicately covered Kakashi’s hand with one of his before looking up again. “What happened?” he whispered.

Kakashi blinked at him slowly. “We were on a transport mission,” he said finally. “To Amegakure. It’s a few day’s travel there. It was a B-rank mission, so some trouble was expected, but not too much. The three of us have all gone out before on several rookie assignments, so we were prepared.” A pause. “We were ambushed the day after we left Amegakure.”

“Is Rin okay? Is Obito?” Iruka cut in urgently, suddenly intensely guilty that he hadn’t thought to ask about them before.

Kakashi smiled faintly. “They’re safe.” He squeezed Iruka’s fingers. “It was messy. We were severely outnumbered, and I didn’t have time to summon my ninken to level the playing field-”

“Ninken?”

“Another story for another day.” Kakashi hummed. “I was in the middle of another fight when I saw Obito had been captured.” A pause. “They had him buried to the waist. It’s an earth-style jutsu, where you pull someone into the ground. One of them was swinging a sword down at him, and I intercepted it. Poorly, obviously.” He gestured at his face. He shrugged his shoulder like it didn’t matter, and how could he not think that _mattered-_

“They saw my face after my mask was broken. After that, they seemed to be coming at me with the intent to kill, but pulling back with Obito and Rin.” He tilted his head, contemplative. “They knew there was an Uchiha on our team. That’s why they attacked in the first place. I don’t know how they knew. They unmasked Rin, too.”

“They saw your faces?”

Kakashi nodded. “They realized Obito was their target then. Clearly the intention was for him to be taken alive. The fight was ugly, but we managed to-” Here Kakashi paused, eye assessing Iruka briefly. “-dispose of the entire group, anyone who had seen my face or Rin’s. If they’d been more coordinated, we would have lost. But they weren’t communicating. Sloppy.”

“Were they with another village?”

“Not outwardly.” Kakashi sighed and released his hand, sitting back a bit. “I can’t say more than that, and I’ve already said too much. It took us a little longer to get home because we had to take the time to handle the mess and recover. Then we received orders to return to Amegakure for a pickup mission, since we were still close, and that tacked on a few extra days.”

“But… if you were injured…” Iruka frowned. “Why did they send you on another mission before you completed your first one?”

Kakashi smiled. “Sometimes that’s how it is. It’s just an eye, Iruka-kun. The mask stopped the blow from doing any deep damage, so I won’t lose the eye. I’ll probably still be able to see. It could have been much worse, and Rin and Obito escaped any serious injury. It was a successful mission- two successful missions, in fact.”

“But you were injured,” Iruka repeated.

“And now I’m home.” Kakashi tilted his head. “This is the life of a shinobi. Does it trouble you?”

“Don’t. Don’t do that.” Iruka glared at him.

“Do what?” Kakashi said calmly.

“Test me. This isn’t a test, this is-” Iruka pulled his hand away. sinking his teeth into his lip almost hard enough to draw blood before continuing. “This is about you. I was worried for you.”

“This is my job. I was protecting Obito. It’s my job to protect my comrades-”

“I understand that, and I’m proud of you, but- but I need you to know that I was worried.” Iruka didn’t look away from him, determined. “I need you to start being careful, not just brave. For me. You’re- my best friend.”

Kakashi blinked, visible eye widening. “Iruka-”

“I’m not saying you weren’t careful this time.” Iruka crossed his arms over his stomach, doing the best version of chastising he could. He was rarely on this side of a scolding. “But I just want to make sure that you understand that... that it will matter to me. If you don’t make it home.”

Kakashi’s gaze softened, a small smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. “How forward of you,” he said lightly.

“If you would like me to be clearer, I can be,” Iruka challenged.

“No, I see.” Kakashi leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek. It made the frustration in Iruka melt away. “I understand.”

Iruka shifted closer, looping his arms gently around Kakashi’s waist. “Welcome home,” he mumbled again, resting his cheek against Kakashi’s shoulder.

“I’m home,” Kakashi replied. He pressed his nose into Iruka’s hair and breathed deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got my high kiss and that's all i really wanted!!
> 
> hit me up on tumblr at [noodletastic](https://noodletastic.tumblr.com).


	4. four

As summer came to a close, Iruka had managed to become passable in taijutsu (he was absolutely no match for Gai, and could barely keep Kakashi’s attention, but had managed to take down Izumo one-on-one, so he was at least on par with one of his age-mates), proficient in handling kunai and shuriken (though his marksmanship was still fairly abysmal), and he also learned how to tree-run, walk on water, and had a thorough enough understanding of hand signs and chakra control to learn some basic ninjutsu. So far, creating a clone had been beyond him even with Ebisu’s help, but he could transform his appearance and maintain it for five minutes, and was getting close to understanding body replacement, though he hadn’t been able to use it while sparring yet; timing it turned out to be quite tricky.

His seal training had also continued, and to Minato’s delight, he seemed to have a knack for it. He was able to create passable exploding tags now, something that Kakashi could not do because apparently most shinobi just _bought_ those, and he could maintain a four point barrier for almost an hour, and was experimenting with a simple defensive single-seal barrier too. He’d never enjoyed studying so much in his life.

All in all, he was nearly competent enough to tentatively begin referring to himself in private as a fledgling shinobi. He could see the difference in himself in the mirror; the baby fat had burnt away from his midsection, and he was pretty sure he could see something like abs in their place. His arms and legs were stronger, and his shoulders _felt_ broader, even though he was still rather slight compared to his older friends. He really had gotten taller, now barely three inches shorter than Kakashi instead of five.

The downside to his summer had been that after the first round of missions, his friends had been consistently absent. While it left him more time to train, he couldn’t help but resent his inexperience. A small part of him was angry with Kushina and Minato. If they had told him sooner, he could have been training for years, he could be out there _with_ them-

But he knew it was pointless to want what he couldn’t have. So he just trained harder.

A week before classes resumed and his training was forced to the back burner, Minato and Kushina left together for a mission. They promised it wouldn’t last more than the weekend - “If it’s any longer, you’ll just tell Naruto we’ve decided to extend our vacation,” Minato instructed - and Iruka was spending his free time with Kakashi. They had the evening to themselves at the Hatake compound, with Sakumo also out of town, and Naruto spending the night with Sasuke. 

Kakashi had just returned home with Rin and Obito from another mission, which had fortunately been a bit smoother than the last few. This one had lasted only five days, a welcome relief compared to the week-or-more stretches through the rest of the month. Kakashi’s eye was uncovered now, and the doctors had been right about him maintaining his sight, though he had admitted to Iruka that when he grew tired, black spots eroded his vision. The only visual reminder of the event was a fresh scar, slashing down through his brow and down his cheek. Iruka had yet to gather the courage to tell Kakashi how handsome he found it.

They had finished eating an hour before, and were sprawled together on the small deck in the middle of the Hatake garden. Their hands were laced between them, and Kakashi’s mask was pulled down around his throat. They hadn’t kissed since his return, but Iruka didn’t mind. The anticipation had become part of the pleasure. They hadn’t really talked about _them,_ hadn’t defined what they were, and Iruka was glad for it. Though the sting of Mizuki had faded, it had far from disappeared. The thought of moving beyond kissing or making what they had official made his skin crawl.

Sometimes you had to know without knowing. Hearing things as they truly were could be dangerous.

“When do you leave again?” Iruka asked after a while. The crickets had begun singing around them as the sun set, and it had nearly lulled him to sleep in their silence.

“Can’t say,” Kakashi murmured. There had been a lot he couldn’t say as of late, and a lot of tension in his shoulders and the shoulders of their friends. Something had changed about all of them, something in their eyes that made them look older. Tired. Even Minato and Kushina had seemed distracted. Something was happening that they couldn’t tell Iruka.

“Because you don’t know?” Iruka turned his head to look at him, and found Kakashi’s eyes already on him.

“Not yet,” Kakashi agreed. “If I had to guess, soon. Likely before your parents return home.”

Iruka frowned a little, twisting slightly to brush his thumb down the pink scar on his cheek. “You need rest.”

Kakashi’s lips quirked. “I’m resting now.”

“You’ve been running around for weeks.” Iruka frowned. “I thought we were at peace.”

“There are still missions to be done.” Kakashi caught the hand still against his cheek and pressed a kiss to his palm. “It’s my duty.”

“Your duty, and ji-chan, and ba-chan, and Genma-”

“You have a crush on Genma, don’t you?” Kakashi interrupted, deftly changing the subject.

Iruka sputtered, helpless to stop his blush. “No!”

“Maa, Iruka-kun, don’t lie.” Kakashi kissed his palm again. “Is it his lovely hair? His commitment to a roguish bandana?” A brow quirked. “Perhaps his oral fixation?”

“Shut up.” Iruka groaned and rolled back onto his back, pulling both of his hands away to cover his face.

“You can tell me,” Kakashi teased. “I’ll keep your secret.”

“You’re just mad he flirts with me.” Iruka glared from between his fingers.

“Of course I am.” Kakashi waved a hand dismissively.

Iruka laughed, dropping his hands again. He found Kakashi’s hand still waiting for his between their bodies and laced their fingers together again. “I did have a crush,” he admitted. “For a long time. I was his biggest fan, when he still played soccer.”

“Ah, it’s the uniform that does it for you.”

“No!” Iruka laughed again, grinning over at him. “Though, he did look very nice in those shorts.”

“Careful, I’ll get jealous.”

“You’re the one who asked!”

“And you still have a crush?” Kakashi’s eyes softened, his thumb brushing slowly against the back of his hand.

Iruka felt his cheeks heat again, though for an entirely different reason. “No. He’s a friend.” A pause. “And he’s very clearly in love with Raidou.”

Kakashi huffed a laugh. “You noticed that?”

“How could I not?” Iruka wrinkled his nose. “He can’t look away when Raidou is around.”

“I understand the compulsion.” Kakashi’s gaze dropped briefly to Iruka’s lips, bouncing back to his eyes.

“Do you?” Iruka smiled, shifting just a fraction closer.

“Yes. Raidou is lovely,” he drawled. Before Iruka could say a word, Kakashi closed the distance between them, lips brushing lightly against his before pressing into a sure kiss. Iruka cupped his cheek again, sighing against his lips.

They kissed for some time, long enough for the final rays of daylight to fade over the horizon. When Kakashi finally pulled away, he was braced above Iruka on one arm. Iruka’s hands had found their way beneath his shirt, pressed against the warm skin of his chest and back. Kakashi had undone Iruka’s hair at some point, his fingers curled into the loose strands in a way that sent prickles down Iruka’s spine, his other hand spread across his chest. Iruka had a sneaking suspicion Kakashi was observing his heartbeat.

“It’s late,” he murmured, voice rough.

“Yeah.” Iruka stroked his hands along Kakashi’s back slowly, watching him with heavy-lidded eyes. “I should head home. I told Gai I would go running with him in the morning.”

Kakashi grinned crookedly, tucking a strand of hair behind Iruka’s ear. “I didn’t know you were a masochist.”

“I’m only doing two loops of the wall.” He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not crazy.”

“Mm.” Kakashi’s gaze roamed across his face, knuckles brushing against his cheek. “Maybe I’ll join you, then.”

“Then Gai will turn it into a competition with you, and I won’t get to see either of you.” Iruka pouted, mostly for the way it drew Kakashi’s eyes back to his mouth. He earned another slow kiss for his troubles, before Kakashi pulled away and continued as if their conversation had never been interrupted.

“Then I’ll find you afterwards and treat you to breakfast.”

“I can accept those terms.” Iruka leaned up to kiss him again, smiling when Kakashi nipped at his lips gently. “But I should go home,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Kakashi pulled back a bit, the hand on his chest sliding down to squeeze his hip. It didn’t feel like a loaded gesture as it would have with Mizuki, like he was trying to coax Iruka into his bed. It was just a warm, comfortable touch. “You can stay here, if you’d like. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Iruka shook his head, hands sliding out of his shirt to cup his face instead. “It’s okay. I want my bed.”

“You’re okay staying alone?” Kakashi kissed his palm again, watching him through half-lidded eyes.

“I’ve done it before, but thank you for your concern.” Iruka laughed, leaning up to brush their noses. “Come on, I should go.”

“Very well.” Kakashi kissed him one last time before pulling away completely. He sat up, stretching languidly. “Can I walk you home?”

Iruka sat up, covering a yawn with his elbow. “Don’t be silly, I’m fine.” He stretched down to touch his toes, loosening some of the stiffness built up from laying on the wood for so long. When he straightened, he reached over and plucked his hair tie from Kakashi’s wrist, tugging his tangled hair back into order. “You can walk me to the gate, though.” 

Kakashi did. He stood beside Iruka as he put on his shoes, before padding on bare feet to the gate with him. He pulled up his mask before he opened the gate, pushing his chakra through the wood to release the seals around the house.

“I want you to explain these to me someday.” Iruka pressed his hand against the wood, frowning as he reached out for the chakra sealed inside. He received a gentle warning jolt for intruding, like static shock, that made him jerk his hand away.

“Anytime you like,” Kakashi agreed. Iruka turned away from the gate to press a kiss to his covered cheek, before backing out onto the street.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled, clasping his hands behind his back.

“In the morning,” Kakashi agreed. He leaned against the doorway, watching Iruka back away. Iruka winked at him before spinning on his heel to focus on where he was going. Before he turned the corner, he glanced back; Kakashi was still there, watching him.

\---

Iruka had stayed alone many times. Kushina and Minato had often gone on “weekend trips” in the past, and usually Naruto spent their time away with Sasuke or Kiba. Most of the time, Mizuki would spend the night with him, but Iruka secretly appreciated the nights he had to himself. 

Tonight, he took a long bath and took care to comb out his hair and wash it. He stole some of Kushina’s lotion from her room. He dressed in his favorite pajamas - a soft, worn sweatshirt of his father’s and a pair of hand-me-down cotton shorts from Kushina - and made himself a cup of tea to enjoy while watching an episode of a shinobi show that Naruto loved. It was fascinating now, to see how much the writers got right, and so much more that they’d gotten wrong.

He was in bed by ten, warm and relaxed, and fell asleep remembering the way Kakashi felt above him. It felt like just moments later when his eyes snapped open, his entire body coming alert in seconds. A glance at his alarm clock showed him that he’d actually been sleeping for hours; it was nearly two in the morning.

There was a prickling sensation under his skin. He didn’t recognize the feeling, just knew instinctively that there was something _wrong-_ and then he heard faint footsteps on the roof outside.

He slid out of bed as quietly as he could, heart racing. For a moment, he thought it might be Kakashi, but the alarm bells going off in his head warned otherwise. He was alone in the house, and there was a stranger outside. He glanced around his room quickly, straining his eyes to find something to protect himself. Of course, there was nothing. Equipment was strictly not allowed anywhere in the house, except-

Except in the office.

He slid out of his room, and as soon as his feet hit the wood of the hallway, he heard his window slide open. His heart was thundering in his chest, hard enough that he worried that whoever was there might hear it. He moved down the hallway as quickly as he dared on light toes, deeply grateful that he’d learned to avoid the squeaky boards when he was younger.

He slipped into the office just as his door opened down the hall. He pressed his lips firmly together to avoid making a noise and stepped quickly around the obstacle course of stacked books piled on the floor. He pressed his thumb against the top drawer of the desk, sending out a little shock of chakra to unlock the seal Minato used to keep Naruto from snooping. He reached inside blindly, grabbing a handful of unknown tags, before ducking beneath the desk.

He was quietly prying open the hidden compartment where he knew Minato hid a kunai when he heard an unfamiliar voice down the hall.

“He’s in the room at the end of the hall. The left,” a man said.

The intruder was speaking to someone, and Iruka realized with a shudder that there were at least two of them. He was outnumbered, then. 

His hands shook as he eased the knife out of the compartment. He set it lightly on the floor beside him and looked through the tags he had grabbed. One exploding tag, that he carefully tucked into a pocket, two complex barrier tags that he had no experience with, and two unmarked slips of paper. He tucked the blank ones into his waistband and the barrier tags into his right pocket. He picked up the kunai again with trembling fingers.

This was not good. He was ill-equipped for any fight, and if one of the men in the hall knew where he was, he must be one of the sensor types Minato had told him about when explaining different, natural talents. And that meant the little pulse of chakra he’d used to release the seal on the drawer had likely been like a flare to the intruder.

The office door opened and Iruka adjusted his hold on the knife, letting out a slow breath. He should have tried to escape, he realized, cursing himself. What good were the skills he had learned against real shinobi? But he hadn’t escaped, and in truth, he hadn’t had time. If he had made for the front door, he would have been caught completely defenseless. At least now he had something to use against them, even if all that did was prolong the inevitable.

He sent a silent prayer for forgiveness to Minato and Kushina, to Naruto. To Kakashi. If the intruders wished him harm, then he was already dead.

“Under there,” the man said. Quiet footsteps moved across the room and Minato’s chair was pushed away from the desk, rolling to the side and sending a stack of books tumbling. Then a body stepped forward into the space, and Iruka had to force himself not to close his eyes. The person bent at the waist to peer beneath the desk and-

And it was Mizuki, staring at him from inches away with a wild grin, his eyes glimmering with a wickedness Iruka knew too well.

“Mizuki,” he choked out, voice cracking.

“Hiding like a mouse, Iruka? That won’t do.” Mizuki grabbed his left arm to drag him out, and Iruka just had the presence of mind to spin his kunai in his right hand, hiding it inside the sleeve of his sweatshirt. 

Iruka tried to resist the pull, pressing his feet uselessly into the wood as he was pulled from his hiding place, then shoved away. He stumbled into the wall, just managing to avoid stabbing himself as he collided with the bookshelf. He swallowed, looking around the room quickly. They hadn’t turned on the lights, but Iruka had already adjusted to the darkness. There was only one other man in the room, the sensor, and his face was hidden by an unfamiliar mask. In the moonlight, Iruka could only tell that it was darker than an Konoha ANBU mask, missing the ghostly glow of the standard porcelain.

He looked back at Mizuki quickly, swallowing a gulp of breath as he tried to collect himself and see past the roaring wall of panic that had risen in his chest. Mizuki was spinning a kunai casually around one finger in a way sickeningly reminiscent of that day in the clearing. He was still grinning, the look so cruel that Iruka barely recognized him.

“I thought you were still in holding,” Iruka blurted. He shifted to anchor his feet, but realized just in time that Mizuki had no idea that he’d been training; that meant he had no idea that Iruka could fight now. He resisted the urge to shift into a defensive position and instead curled his arms to his chest, stepping back against the bookshelf timidly.

“I was. Now I’m not.” Mizuki shrugged casually, leaning a hip against the desk. “What? I can’t visit a friend?”

“I don’t think we’re friends anymore,” Iruka said firmly.

“And whose fault is that?” Mizuki arched a brow.

“You attacked my _little brother_ ,” Iruka snapped. “So I would say it’s yours.” He didn’t like how his voice trembled as he forced out the words.

“You wanna know why I did it?” Mizuki tilted his head, clearly amused.

“Hurry up,” the other man said. “We have to meet the others.”

“Relax.” Mizuki cut a glance at his companion, mouth curling down in displeasure. “This won’t take long.”

“What does he mean?” Iruka said slowly. “What are you doing here?”

“Like I said.” Mizuki looked at him again, brows climbing. “Paying you a visit. I felt like I ought to say goodbye properly, before I left.”

A sick feeling stirred in his stomach, and suddenly Iruka felt far too visible under his dark eyes. He didn’t have to fake the way his shoulders curled in at the thought of what that might mean, sweat forming beneath his arms. “Mizuki, _no._ ”

Mizuki took a step towards him slowly, head tipping. “What? Do you think I mean _fuck_ you?” He laughed sharply. “Don’t be disgusting. I don’t want Hatake’s seconds.”

Kakashi’s name felt like a stab to the chest because he wasn’t _here._ He couldn’t help Iruka this time, and Iruka realized he had made another mistake. Why hadn’t he grabbed his phone? No one knew what was happening. He was alone.

“Then what do you mean, Mizuki?” he asked. He took a small step to the side, which took him away from Mizuki but unfortunately closer to the foreign shinobi. “And- I do want to know why. Why you attacked Naruto, I mean.”

“You’re always the lucky one.” Mizuki stepped towards him again and Iruka was caught between the two of them, unable to move in either direction without getting closer to an enemy. “Our parents die, and you’ve got a new family the next week. You get a house. You get a little brother. You get new parents that love you, make you eat your vegetables and do your homework.” He sneered, flipping his kunai from one hand to the other. “You were surrounded by love and all I got was your table scraps. You forgot about me. I wanted to make you remember.”

“Mizuki, that’s not true.” Iruka shook his head a little. “I loved you. I thought about you all the time but- but you started hurting me.”

“Because I was _angry_ ,” Mizuki snarled. He was getting too close, and Iruka had nowhere to run.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka whispered, and he was. He had gotten lucky, and Mizuki hadn’t. “I always tried to be enough for you, Mizuki.”

“Mizuki is dead,” he said dismissively, swiping the name away like an annoying gnat. “He was weak, stupid, impotent. That isn’t me anymore. I don’t need you now.”

“Then what are you going to _do?_ ” Iruka snapped, fear making him frustrated. Too quick to anger, a bad trait for a ninja. He tried to reel himself in.

“Kill you too.” Mizuki tipped his head. “What use does Iruka have without Mizuki?”

Cold dread extinguished any growing irritation, and Iruka could only stare at him, slack jawed. Silence hung in the air around them as Mizuki took another step forward, dismissively kicking aside another stack of books.

“What?” he said at last, voice hollow.

“Don’t worry.” Mizuki walked towards him slowly, catching his kunai in a practiced motion. Iruka didn’t move, watching him close the distance between them in disbelief. Mizuki stopped a foot in front of him. Iruka couldn’t look away from his cold eyes. “It won’t hurt. Too much, anyway.”

“I loved you,” Iruka said softly. “Please, Mizuki. Don’t.”

“You didn’t love me enough, did you?” And Mizuki plunged the kunai between Iruka’s ribs without a moment’s hesitation.

It was the first time Iruka successfully used substitution jutsu in a battle scenario. He landed in a crouch on Minato’s desk as his after-image was replaced by a book, the kunai digging through it’s pages instead of Iruka’s ribs. The foreign nin spun to face him, and so did Mizuki, but Iruka was already moving. He sent out another silent apology to Minato and flung his kunai into the wall between the two men, his one exploding tag pinned beneath it. It went off with a bang before either of them could react, and Iruka rolled behind the desk to shield himself as the wall exploded in a bright flash. 

Iruka knew it wasn’t enough to stop them, but it was enough to cause an unmistakable ruckus. Someone would hear it, and someone would come for him, and maybe they would make it in time. He unlocked another hidden compartment on the desk quickly, arming himself with another kunai.

When the ringing of the explosion died down, Mizuki let out a furious roar. Iruka jumped back away from the desk and shifted into a fighting stance, eyes darting between the two men. Mizuki moved to lunge for him, and the other man grabbed his arm in a steel-tight grip.

“When did you learn that?” Mizuki snarled, tugging against the man’s grip.

“Enough,” he snapped. “I’ve entertained you for too long. The brat will call half of Konoha to the doorstep with that display. We’ve got things to do.”

“Let me go- you promised I would get to kill him-” Mizuki pulled at the grip again, turning narrow eyes on his companion.

“And you said he was a civilian. This is a perfect diversion-”

“I don’t give a fuck about the Sharingan!” Mizuki jerked his arm free, only to be struck across the face by the man beside him. The hit was hard enough to knock him off his feet.

“You come with me now, or I kill you here.”

Mizuki stared up at him, his face curled in disgust. Iruka’s mind was racing, spinning around the word “Sharingan” over and over.

Sharingan was the Uchiha kekkei genkai. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had been attacked by a group searching for an Uchiha, searching for the Sharingan-

Mizuki was somehow a part of the plot to steal it, and the fight had entered the walls of Konoha. Mizuki, the stranger, and the others they were meeting were planning something, and now they were going to use the explosion as a distraction. While the rest of Konoha descended on the Uzumaki residence, the insurgents would-

They would go to the Uchiha compound. To the place Obito lived, and Sasuke, and Itachi, their parents, cousins, aunts, uncles. The place where Naruto was.

Iruka moved without thinking. He pulled the barrier tags from his pockets, slapped them on the ground, pushed chakra into them with all his might, and begged the barrier to extend over his two enemies. He had no idea what these particular tags were, beyond recognizing them as a more advanced version of the barrier seals Minato had been teaching him. He didn’t know if they would work, or if they were meant for defense or offense, or if he even had enough chakra to activate them-

But in a shimmering wave, a barrier extended from the points where Iruka had placed his tags, forming a dome over the two invaders. Iruka felt the drag on his chakra immediately, gasping as it was sucked away and through the tags that formed a rippling, clearly unstable shield.

“I won’t let you go,” he said sharply.

Mizuki and the masked man were both staring at him. Mizuki looked thunderstruck, but the masked man’s expression was hidden. After a moment, he turned his head to examine their cage, and reached out a hand to press against it. It flexed like a bubble under his touch, but it didn’t break. Iruka could feel his whole body trembling.

“Boy,” the man said slowly. “Release this now, and I may consider allowing you to walk out of this room.”

“No.” He grit his teeth, hands pressed to the seals like a lifeline.

“When did you learn how to do _any_ of this?” Mizuki snapped.

Iruka didn’t answer, or even spare Mizuki a glance. He kept his eyes locked on the bigger threat. The man was still pressing against the barrier, slowly trailing his fingers over the flexible surface.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” the man asked. He flicked it, and the touch rippled across the surface. “This barrier is incomplete. My guess is that those tags are meant for a multi-corner seal, but you only have two.”

“Shut up,” Iruka snapped.

“You don’t know, do you?” The man dropped his hand, shifting into a crouch to peer at Iruka from eye level. His eyes looked like black holes. “I’m surprised you were able to form something like this. You don’t have much chakra.” He tilted his head. “Not from exhaustion, either. You’re in your infancy.”

“I said shut up.” Iruka took a slow breath and tried to center himself, focusing on the tight spool of energy at his core, on making the threads of it spread continuously through his palms, on making those threads overlap into the glistening dome before him. He could feel how unstable it was, the way it was dragging through him instead of forming a circuit of fixed points the way it should.

“But I don’t think you’ll have much anyway… a talentless little boy, daring to train as a shinobi.” He chuckled and it made Iruka’s blood boil. He slapped the feeling back, resolutely focused on the task at hand. When he didn’t speak, the man tipped his head the opposite way. “Mizuki tells me your family name is Umino. A civilian family, I take it, with no gift. It will be no pity when I kill you, then.” He formed hand seals, too quickly for Iruka to follow, and pressed his hand to the barrier again.

Electricity raced over the bubble’s surface, making it wobble menacingly. Iruka felt it in his body too, racing static that made him tense all over. It was painful enough that he almost lost his concentration. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palms into the ground as hard as he could, bearing the discomfort.

It was over almost as soon as it started. He panted, eyes still shut, but he could feel that the barrier hadn’t collapsed. When he looked up, the man was still staring at him.

“Very good,” he whispered. He tipped his head back for a moment, staring at the ceiling, before looking at Iruka again. “We have company on the way. I’ll need you to drop the barrier now.”

“Fuck you,” Iruka hissed. “I am a citizen of Konoha. I will _not_ release you. I will _not_ allow you to attack anyone else. I _will_ protect my people.” He said it as much to make a point as he did to remind himself why he _must_ continue, even though the spool of chakra inside him was unraveling quickly, nearly at the bobbin. He was trembling with exhaustion already, and the metallic taste of fear had invaded his mouth.

The man didn’t speak for a moment, and when he did, it was to address Mizuki. “This boy is stronger than you, Mizuki.”

“Fuck you,” Mizuki snarled. It sounded pathetic to Iruka, compared to the real danger of the man trapped alongside him. Iruka spared him a glance to see that he was crouched too, blood dripping from the lip his comrade had split.

“It’s true,” the man said. “This one has the Will of Fire that your people won’t shut up about. But unfortunately, time has run out.” He formed those signs again and Iruka braced himself for another shock. When it came, he _screamed._

This time the attack was too powerful for him to stand, and he ripped his hands away. His palms were scalded and little shocks ripped through his body, making him twitch and writhe where he fell on the floor. Even though he’d pulled his hands away, the shock continued for several long seconds, like the lightning was trapped inside his body. When it finally ended, he couldn’t stand to open his eyes, scared to look up and see what his attackers would do next.

Then, distantly, he heard the window shatter. He peeled his eyes open to see two ANBU crouched on the desk. One was a very large man, unfamiliar to Iruka, his mask indiscernible in the half-light. The other was the Deer, and his hands were held in the rat sign.

Iruka forced himself upright on shaky arms and looked across the ruined room at Mizuki and the man. They were both frozen in place, halfway to the door. The Deer separated his hands and lifted them slowly over his head. Mizuki and the man moved at the same time, in the same way. The man seemed to be trembling where he stood, like he was trying to fight off whatever jutsu had taken over his body.

“Umino,” the Deer said, tone even. “Report.”

Iruka looked at him again, blinking slowly, and had to shake his head to clear it. There was a headache building behind his temples. He wondered if this was what chakra exhaustion felt like. “Ah- I was asleep, and they broke in. I tried to hide here, and they found me. Mizuki tried to stab me and I used substitution jutsu to escape, and then used an explosive tag to signal for help. The- man tried to make Mizuki leave. He said something about meeting others, and something about the Sharingan. I think there’s some kind of plan to attack the Uchiha.” He paused. “I think that’s it- and he uses lightning release.”

“Why are they still here? The explosion was minutes ago.”

“I used ji-chan’s barrier tags to stop them.” A pause. “I don’t think I used them right. I don’t feel good.”

“You did well,” the Deer said. 

“Well done, indeed,” the man said, and he sounded too amused for a captive. It made Iruka shiver.

Behind Mizuki and the man, two more unfamiliar ANBU entered from the stairs. They pulled some sort of handcuffs from their pouches. The Deer moved his hands together behind his back, forcing his captives to do the same. When the cuffs were on, the Deer released the jutsu he had been using to detain them. 

Mizuki’s face was a mask of rage. “You said we would get out,” he snapped at the man, his teeth bared.

The man seemed unbothered, head tipped back at a cocky angle. “You’re the one who insisted we come here. What happens next is your fault, boy.”

“Taichou, orders?” one of the men with the cuffs asked. He gave Mizuki a shake when he tried to tug at his cuffs, otherwise ignoring him.

“Take Mizuki back to Ox. I imagine he’ll crumble quickly. Take the insurgent to Boar. Tell him we need immediate answers regarding any other intruders. Force is encouraged. Send another team to the Uchiha compound, at least ten. And I want eyes on every village entrance.”

“Yes, taichou.” In twin flurries of leaves, they disappeared with their prisoners.

There was a brief silence, and the Deer stepped down from the desk with a heavy sigh. “Go to Hokage-sama. Tell him what’s happened.”

“Of course,” the big man said. He sounded very kind. Then he disappeared too.

The Deer knelt beside Iruka, gentle hands resting on his shoulders. “You said you don’t feel well?”

Iruka shook his head, pointing towards the scorched tags on the ground. “I don’t think I used those right,” he said again. “I-I really don’t know what I did.”

The Deer took his hands, turning them over carefully. He hadn’t realized how badly his hands were burnt until he saw the blackened flesh. Suddenly the pain that had been masked by his adrenaline made itself known. He hissed, squeezing his eyes closed. His trembling returned, entire body overwhelmed with pain.

“You’re okay,” the Deer said quietly. “I’m going to take you to the medics now.”

“Naruto-” Iruka managed through clenched teeth, “He’s at the Uchiha compound too, I should go there-”

“Attacking the compound would be a fool’s errand.” The Deer shook his head. “Even if that’s their goal, it’s unlikely that they would rush in. The Uchiha are their target, not your brother. And our men are on the way.” A pause. “Let us take care of the rest.”

Iruka hesitated, staring into the mask. He thought, through the eye holes, he could just make out stern, dark eyes. After a moment, he nodded. He felt that sharp tug at his bones and again, he was in the hospital, though this time it was at the admission’s desk. The Deer had lifted him to his feet, and as soon as the world settled around them, he felt his knees buckle. The Deer caught him easily, gesturing to the man behind the desk.

“Get a team. He needs immediate treatment for burns and chakra exhaustion.”

Iruka realized his face was bare, and that anyone who saw him now would know he was training as a shinobi. “My face-”

“You’re safe here,” The Deer soothed.

A medic arrived within seconds with a wheelchair that the Deer lowered Iruka carefully into. Iruka tried to grab his arm when he moved away, hissing as the burns on his palms protested the movement. “Wait-”

“Focus on healing. We’ll handle the rest.” The Deer put a gentle hand on the top of his head, before once again disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

\---

Iruka was taken to a room immediately, and given an IV before he had fully settled into his bed. A blonde woman entered the room as the attendant who had escorted him adjusted his pillows. She walked directly to his bedside, gaze stern.

“Hands,” she snapped. He held them out for her inspection, and she hissed sympathetically. “Pretty bad burns, kid.”

“They feel pretty bad,” he admitted. He felt his lip tremble before he even registered that he was crying. He could do nothing to hide it other than bow his head, hiccuping softly on sharp inhales.

There was a moment of hesitation, and then the sound of a chair scraping close to the bed. “Not for long,” the woman promised.

He looked up at her sheepishly, ashamed of himself for giving in to the pain. She was watching him with warm golden eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m okay.”

“Wouldn’t be here if you were okay.” She grabbed a pillow from the foot of his bed and put it across his lap, before gently guiding his hands to rest on top of it, palms up. She put her hands over his, and they immediately started glowing the same way Rin’s had when she showed him her healing jutsu. The relief was almost immediate and he gasped, a fresh wave of tears streaking down his cheeks. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Umino Iruka.”

“Iruka-kun. You’re the Uzumaki’s brat.” She hummed, eyes focused on his hands. “I’m Tsunade. I know your parents well.”

“You do?”

“Mm.” She nodded absently. “I trained them both. Your birth parents, too. Your mother, at least.”

Iruka blinked. No one besides Minato and Kushina ever spoke of his parents. “You did?” He frowned a little; she looked far too young for that.

She gave him an amused glance before refocusing on his wounds. “Your mother was a few years younger than me, and she had a brief interest in healing. But espionage was more her scene, so we didn’t work together long. Kushina and Minato are family friends.”

He hesitated, biting his lip while he watched her work. “Do you… have any stories? About my mother?”

“Let’s see…”

Tsunade told him two stories about his mother; one was about her abysmal aptitude for healing, and the other was about a night of drinking he was sure his mother would be appalled he had ever heard. It made him love it even more.

When the second story ended, Tsunade lifted her hands away from his. The scorched, raw flesh had been replaced with pink skin. He stared at them in awe. Slowly, he flexed his hands, wincing as the fresh skin protested. Tsunade tapped him on the leg in reprimand.

“Don’t ruin my work, kid. I’m going to have someone bandage those up. Your body will do the rest, but it will be a few days before you can do much with them without causing more damage.”

Iruka flushed, bowing his head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms above her head with a long sigh. “More work than I expected to do tonight.” She dropped her arms to her sides and stood. “Minato and Kushina are out of town, aren’t they?”

Iruka nodded. A medic entered with a tray of bandages and a small jar of ointment. Tsunade moved out of the way so that he could begin wrapping Iruka’s palms.

“Anyone you want me to send for? I would recommend that you sleep, but I imagine you aren’t interested in that right now.”

Iruka dipped his head again. He was exhausted, sure, but the thought of going to sleep made terror trickle down his spine. “Could you…” He bit his lip, and then released it with a shaky sigh. “My friend. Hatake Kakashi, could you see if he…?”

Tsunade snorted so loudly it made Iruka’s head whip up in surprise. She was grinning. “That brat?”

“Um-”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll send someone to get him.” She waved a hand, turning her back on him. “Remember, don’t move your hands. And try to rest.”

“Okay?” Iruka frowned at her back, but she disappeared into the corridor without another word.

“You really should rest,” the young man wrapping his hands said. Iruka just sighed and relaxed back into his pillows while the man worked.

\---

Kakashi arrived two hours later. Iruka had been alone for the last hour, after his hands were finished and the medic had helped him drink a cup of water. He had dozed off once or twice, only to jerk awake again at the smallest sound, jolted back to the event of hours before.

When Kakashi arrived, the sun was just beginning to rise, painting the sky in faint pinks and purples. Iruka looked over when the door opened, heart clenching when he saw Kakashi standing there. He had stopped at the threshold. He looked- well, to most he probably wouldn’t look like much at all, but Iruka could see the dark circles beneath his eyes and small furrow of worry between his brows. He watched Iruka for a long time, hand flexing on the door frame.

“You’re here,” Iruka murmured, smiling faintly.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said quietly. He crossed the room to stand beside him, hand hovering tentatively over his arm. “Tsunade’s message took some time to reach me. I’m so sorry. I got sent to the Uchiha compound to search for intruders. I had no idea it had anything to do with you-”

“Kakashi,” Iruka interrupted. “It’s okay.”

Kakashi’s jaw clenched like he wanted to disagree. He touched Iruka’s arm with gentle fingers, just above his bandages. “Are _you_ okay?”

Iruka opened his mouth to answer, and found himself once again on the verge of tears. He had to bite his cheek to stop them from falling. He shook his head minutely, wishing desperately to reach out for Kakashi, but too afraid to hurt his fragile hands.

“Iruka.” Kakashi’s frown deepened and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. “Hey.” He brushed his fingers gently against Iruka’s cheek. Iruka squeezed his eyes closed against his tears and sat up from his pillows just a bit, extending his arms beseechingly. Kakashi hesitated for just a moment before wrapping him in a careful hug. Iruka squeezed him back tentatively, making sure he didn’t put pressure on his hands. He pressed his face into Kakashi’s neck instead, a quiet sob ripped from his throat. Kakashi held him, one hand rubbing his back in gentle circles, the other cradling the back of his head to keep him close.

“I was so scared,” he said, voice thick.

“I’m here,” Kakashi murmured. “It’s okay now. It’s okay.”

Iruka couldn’t remember falling asleep.

\---

When he woke up, he could tell that the sun was already high in the sky. Someone had pulled the curtains closed across his window, but they didn’t quite block the bright summer sun. He closed his eyes again for a moment, letting out a slow breath to dispel the immediate panic that had risen in his chest at the unfamiliar environment.

He opened his eyes again and realized he had been sleeping almost completely upright. Kakashi was sitting in the chair beside his bed, head pillowed on one arm. His other hand was resting gently on the center of Iruka’s stomach. It was a warm, grounding weight. Iruka’s hands had been moved to lay at his sides, palms up, carefully placed out of danger. Kakashi’s breathing was slow and even, but as soon as Iruka shifted, he was sitting up, blinking away sleep.

“Are you okay?” he said immediately, voice hoarse.

Iruka smiled faintly, wishing he could reach out to comb his fingers through Kakashi’s messy hair. “I feel better after resting a little.”

Kakashi nodded and rubbed his hands over his face with a quiet sigh, thumbs pressing into his eyes for a moment. “I’m glad.” He dropped his hands to look at Iruka again. “Can I get you anything?”

Iruka made Kakashi help him to the bathroom. He used the bathroom by himself and rinsed his mouth with antiseptic, but he let Kakashi wash his face for him. He sat on the counter while Kakashi meticulously cleaned his face with a warm, damp cloth. He didn’t bother hiding his fond smile when Kakashi produced a hair tie from his pocket. Kakashi combed the knots from Iruka’s hair with careful fingers, and deftly pulled his hair into a ponytail for him.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had entered the room behind them, before pulling down his mask to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, beneath his ear, against the side of his neck, and finally to his lips. Each one ate away at the tension rooted in Iruka’s muscles. After, he leaned back and pulled his mask back into place before helping Iruka back to bed. Once he was settled, Kakashi sat on the mattress beside him, delicately holding his wrist instead of his hand.

“What did they tell you?” Iruka asked. They couldn’t avoid talking about it forever, and the sooner it was done with, the sooner they could move on.

“That a missing nin attacked you in your home. And that Mizuki was with him. That you weren’t dead.” Kakashi shrugged his shoulder half-heartedly. “They wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

Iruka frowned. “That’s it?” Kakashi nodded and Iruka sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “If that’s all they would tell you, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say.” He looked at him, frustrated. “I haven’t been- debriefed, and I don’t know what’s secret-”

“You’re welcome to tell him the whole story,” an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. “That is, if I’m allowed to listen as well.”

Iruka looked over quickly and immediately assumed he was hallucinating. That was the only explanation for the Hokage standing in his hospital room, dressed not in his formal robes, but in a black shirt and pants that very much resembled the type he was used to seeing in an ANBU uniform. His dark hair was kept away from his face with a black headband, two pieces framing his face. And he was smiling cheerfully.

Kakashi was on his feet immediately, hands tucked behind his back at attention and head bowed. “Hokage-sama.”

The Hokage’s face fell into a sullen pout for just a moment, before he shook his head and smiled once more. “At ease, Hatake.”

Kakashi lifted his head hesitantly, arms awkwardly swinging to his sides. The Hokage approached Iruka’s bedside and gestured to the visitor’s chair, his eyes turning to Iruka. “May I?”

“Of course,” Iruka said hurriedly. “Please, I would- it’s my honor-”

“You can relax too, Umino.” He sat down, crossing his legs casually and settling in as if this was something he did every day. “Please. You were going to tell a story?”

Iruka stared at him, at a loss. He had never seen the Hokage outside of village events, and always at a distance. Up close, he seemed much less remarkable. It wasn’t that he was unattractive. On the contrary, he was a very handsome man, but he was plain in a way that seemed discordant with his rumored power. On top of that, he was older than Iruka had imagined. If he had to guess, the man at his bedside was in his late fifties, sixty at most. There were fine laugh lines etched into the corners of his dark eyes and his cheeks, and while his hair had not gone grey entirely, Iruka could see where paler strands were camouflaged within the dark.

Iruka realized he’d been staring and looked at his lap quickly, cheeks heating. “I’m sorry, Hokage-sama. This is- a little overwhelming.”

“While we talk, I would be far more comfortable if you could call me Hashirama,” he said. When Iruka looked back up, the man was grinning sheepishly, scratching his temple through the fabric of his headband.

“Oh.” Iruka blinked. Permission to use his true name made facing the living legend before him much easier. He nodded, smiling faintly. “Thank you, Hashirama-sama.” 

Hashirama smiled, and looked at Kakashi. He waved a hand towards the bed with a little laugh. “Sit down, Kakashi-kun, you’ll make us nervous, hovering there.” Kakashi sat on the side of Iruka’s mattress again, and Iruka thought he could see a faint pink bloom just above the edge of his mask. “Iruka-kun,” he continued, looking at him again. “I give you full permission to tell us both the story of what happened last night. I hope I can provide some clarity to anything you found confusing.”

“Thanks.” Iruka smiled, turning his eyes to Kakashi. He reached out to him, touching his hand lightly with bandaged fingers. Kakashi’s attention snapped to him immediately. “It was Mizuki and a missing-nin,” he confirmed. Kakashi stiffened a bit, but the hand he turned to cradle Iruka’s sensitive hand was nothing but gentle. Iruka took a deep breath, and started from the beginning.

“I was asleep.” He kept his eyes on Kakashi, too nervous to speak directly to Hashirama. “And I woke up all of a sudden because… I don’t know why. I could feel something in the air, maybe? I knew someone was outside. At first I thought it might be you-” Here, he glanced at Hashirama, a faint blush rising in his cheeks. “-but I knew it couldn’t be. It felt… sinister.”

“You might have been sensing their chakra,” Kakashi suggested. “We haven’t gotten to work on that yet, but even if you aren’t a sensor, you can still notice others. Especially if.” A pause. “Especially if they have some sort of killing intent.”

Iruka smiled humorlessly. “Well. I heard them on the roof, and I went straight to ji-chan’s office to find a weapon. It was stupid,” he admitted, “I completely forgot to grab my phone so I could call for help, and I should have known I’m not at the level where I can fight anyone yet.”

“Clearly, you give yourself too little credit,” Hashirama interjected lightly.

“I don’t think I do.” Iruka shook his head, flashing him a grateful smile. “I went to ji-chan’s desk and I unlocked the drawer where he hides tags he’s working on. I grabbed some at random, because I didn’t have enough time to look through them, and it was too dark anyway. I hid under the desk, and realized I just had an exploding tag and two advanced barrier tags that I had never seen before, so I just stuffed them in my pocket and got a kunai from a compartment under the desk.” He let out a breath. “Then they came in. They knew right where I was, because the guy with Mizuki was a sensor, I think. Mizuki grabbed me from under the desk-”

He had to stop, closing his eyes against the memory. He hadn’t really let himself process how Mizuki had been behaving, too caught up in the action to really analyze anything beyond what he could do next to stay alive. He opened his eyes again when Kakashi squeezed his wrist, looking up at him. “He looked crazy,” Iruka whispered, all for Kakashi’s ears. “Like… really crazy. He told me he was jealous of me. And he was talking nonsense about- about how _Mizuki_ was weak and _Mizuki_ was dead, and how that wasn’t him anymore. And he said-” He paused, swallowing thickly. “He said he was there to kill me, because what good is Iruka without Mizuki?”

Kakashi’s eyes hardened, jaw clenching tightly. “You are everything,” he said resolutely. “I should have killed him the last time.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” Iruka shook his head a little.

“If he hurts you again, I will.”

The ultimatum hung heavy in the air for a long moment, before Iruka continued. “He tried to stab me. Point blank, no hesitation.” Kakashi’s brows twitched, body a tight line of tension. “I used the body replacement technique we’ve been working on. It worked.”

The tension disappeared immediately, Kakashi’s eyes widening slightly. “You did?”

“I did.” He grinned. Kakashi’s eyes curved closed happily.

“I’m proud of you.”

“Listen to the rest.” Iruka straightened up a little, bolstered by the praise. “I knew that I had to do something to get someone’s attention, or I was a goner. So I set off the exploding tag before they could react to the body replacement, because I knew no one would ignore an explosion in the middle of town.”

“Brilliant,” Kakashi praised once more.

“The next part is what I’m sort of unsure about.” He turned his gaze to Hashirama, who had been listening quietly. “The missing nin wanted to leave, but Mizuki wanted to stay to fight me. He said something about not caring about the Sharingan, and I think he misspoke because the guy hit him for it.” A pause. “I’m friends with Uchiha Obito, so I know about the Sharingan, and Kakashi was on a mission where they were attacked by someone looking for an Uchiha. So I sort of- came to the conclusion that they were one and the same, this missing-nin and the people who attacked Obito before. And I figured that since they failed then, they had gotten into the village to try again.”

Hashirama stared at him for a long moment, assessing. Then he nodded, smiling warmly. “You thought correctly.”

“ _Brilliant,_ ” Kakashi repeated, and this time he sounded awed.

Iruka blushed under the dual admiration, head bowing again. “And like I said, I’m friends with Obito, and Itachi. And Sasuke is my little brother’s best friend, and my little brother was at the compound last night-” He lifted his head a little, looking at Hashirama. “Everyone else there too, I know a lot of them. I… I wanted to protect them, and I didn’t know how to, so I just. Did the best thing I could think of. All I had was those barrier tags I didn’t understand beyond knowing they were for _some_ kind of barrier. So I activated them. I didn’t know what would happen but I just- I think I just wanted to capture them so badly that my will just… did the work for me?” He frowned. “And I managed to capture them. Sort of.”

“My brother went to your home to look at the scene for himself.” 

Iruka jerked upright a bit, eyes wide. “Tobirama-sensei?”

Hashirama’s smile widened. “Those tags are meant exclusively for a four-point barrier, to be used by four people. The chakra drain to activate seals that complex is very, very significant. After seeing them, he wouldn’t believe that you did it on your own until he saw it for himself in your friend Mizuki’s memories.”

“He’s not my friend,” Iruka blurted.

Hashirama held up his hands apologetically. “You’re right, of course. But either way, after seeing it, Tobirama’s conclusion was similar to yours. Your determination is the only thing that made those seals function in any way similar to their intended use. He also believes that because you were using yourself as a conduit to complete the chain needed for those seals to work, your elemental nature slipped into the barrier without you intending it. The actual barrier created by that formula should be a solid, four wall construct. Yours, I hear, was like a bubble.”

Iruka blinked, glancing at his hands, then up again. “It looked like a bubble. And it- it moved like one, when that man touched it.” His eyes widened and he sat up further. “Is that why it hurt so badly when he used lightning release on it? Because water is weak against lightning-”

“That may have been part of it,” Hashirama agreed. “In addition to the barrier running directly through you.”

“Whoa.” Iruka looked at his hands again, then at Kakashi, who looked very confused. “When I put up the barrier, and refused to let it down, the missing nin used a jutsu on the barrier to try and hurt me through it. That’s what happened to my hands.” He held them out. “He shocked me, and it burnt my hands really badly.”

“You really did all that?” Kakashi said, voice soft with disbelief.

Iruka straightened his shoulders proudly. “Don’t think I could?”

“I don’t think _I_ could.” Kakashi cupped his hands around Iruka’s again gently. “You’re amazing.”

“Am I?” Iruka said lightly. He knew he was fishing for compliments, but he figured he deserved it.

“You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” Kakashi said firmly. “You are clever, and resourceful, and quick-”

Hashirama cleared his throat, and Kakashi and Iruka both looked at him quickly, twin blushes rising in their cheeks. Hashirama just grinned, waving dismissively as he sat forward. “It’s alright,” he soothed. He turned his warm gaze on Iruka again. “Thank you for sharing your story.”

“You’re welcome.” Iruka bit his lip for a moment. “But- Hashirama-sama, if you don’t mind me asking… it seems like you already knew all of that.”

“So you want to know why I’m here?”

“If you don’t mind.” Iruka smiled sheepishly.

Hashirama shifted forward in his seat, eyes burning into Iruka’s. “I came here, because I owe you my thanks. We all do.”

Iruka’s eyes widened, heart immediately racing in his chest. “Oh, no, please-”

“Iruka-kun.” Hashirama didn’t look away, gaze serious. “If you hadn’t acted exactly as you did, with such speed and remarkable determination, then last night we may not have captured the twelve intruders inside our walls. Because of you, we gathered crucial intel. We were able to alert the Uchiha and mobilize ANBU. Four missing-nin were captured within the walls of the Uchiha compound. Seven were captured trying to escape the village. And you helped us capture one, using all your _cleverness_ and _resourcefulness._ ” Here, he glanced at Kakashi impishly, before returning his gaze to Iruka. “No one was hurt last night, because you did everything within your power to protect Konoha. I am deeply thankful to you. So please.” He bowed his head to Iruka. “Accept my thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Iruka said faintly, tears prickling the corner of his eyes. “I’m- I’m so glad I could help.”

“You saved your people last night.” Hashirama lifted his head, smiling. “I’m happy to see the Will of Fire alive and well within the next generation.” He shifted to his feet. “Now. Would you excuse me? There are a few things left to finish up, and I’m really looking forward to a nap.”

“Of course.” Iruka bowed his head again, twisting to wipe his face discreetly against the sleeve of his shirt. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” Hashirama was grinning when Iruka looked back up. He lifted a hand, and turned to exit. He paused in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder. “Ah, Kakashi-kun. Madara asked me to have you convey a message to his nephew. Please let Obito know that he’ll be dropping by this weekend and expects to be impressed by the progress he’s made this summer.”

Kakashi leaned back a bit, visibly alarmed. “Yes, Hokage-sama.”

Hashirama graced them with one last grin before disappearing down the hallway.

Iruka blinked, looking at Kakashi. “Who’s Madara?”

Kakashi deflated with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Obito’s uncle. His direct uncle, and the reason Obito gets to live in the main house. Madara is also Hokage-sama’s… friend. He’s known as the shadow of the shadow. So-” He shook his head. “Actually, nevermind. I’ll explain it later.”

“Okay,” Iruka agreed.

They sat in silence for a few long minutes, while Iruka tried to digest what had happened in the last twelve hours. Not only had his ex-boyfriend broken into his house, but he had also apparently been in cahoots with a group of missing-nin, and was there to kill him. And then Iruka had nearly killed _himself_ by using absolutely misguided jutsu, but in doing so somehow foiled a plot that endangered the entire village. And then the Hokage had shown up at his bedside to _personally_ thank him for it.

“Did that all really happen?” Iruka asked finally, looking up at Kakashi. Kakashi was already watching him, calm and reserved once more.

“It seems so, hero.”

Iruka flopped back against his pillows with a breathless, disbelieving laugh.

\---

The next several days were a bit of a whirlwind.

Minato and Kushina returned home in the afternoon and appeared at Iruka’s bedside in an absolute state of alarm. It took about two hours to explain everything that had happened to their satisfaction. He didn’t get to go home until the next day, when he had mostly recovered from his chakra exhaustion and his hands were strong enough to be unbandaged and used again without worry that he might rip open the delicate new skin.

Apparently the attack on the Uchiha compound had moved up the date of Sasuke and Naruto’s introduction to the shinobi underworld. On the trip home from the hospital, Kushina warned him that Naruto’s unbridled enthusiasm was going to be a lot to handle. Iruka shrugged it off. Until, that is, he got home, where he was immediately cornered by Naruto and told his entire story from that night in breathless excitement. Kushina had to save him from an onslaught of questions that left him so exhausted he barely remembered his trip from the living room to bed.

The next day was spent at home. He slept on and off for the most part. When he tried to apologize to Minato for the state of his office that afternoon, he was hugged fiercely while Minato showered him with praise. Iruka decided not to mention that he noticed the tears his guardian was manfully trying to conceal.

The next day, he was taken in to be interviewed about the attack by T&I. Apparently, T&I stood for torture and interrogation, though his own interview was perfectly civil, if thorough. More interesting was the fact that the ANBU unit was housed within a secret building and staffed by a far greater shinobi force than Iruka had ever imagined in one place. A lot of them weren’t even wearing masks within the fortress, and even the ones Iruka wasn’t stunned to recognize from his normal life greeted him by name.

He also finally got to meet the Deer in person; it turned out the man behind the mask was Nara Shikaku, who Iruka knew exclusively as the father of one of Naruto’s friends. He certainly hadn’t realized that the man was a high ranking commander within the ANBU forces, but he was happy none-the-less to thank him for all of his help eye-to-eye.

Eventually Iruka was told the whole story behind what happened that night. Apparently the missing-nin he had apprehended had actually been a spy named Akame Haru that had been living in Konoha for years. He had been working as a butcher, and was beloved by many within the walls. He had been the one responsible for recruiting Mizuki. He had seen Mizuki’s potential and decided to escape with him after stealing the Sharingan, with the intention of rearing him as a spy. He had been secretly grooming Mizuki since the previous winter, and had likely been responsible for stoking the flames of Mizuki’s hatred.

(Of course, Mizuki had been hurting Iruka for months before that. So it wasn’t much of a relief, if he was completely honest.)

They had learned this all from Mizuki, because as soon as they had returned to T&I, the spy, Akame Haru, had killed himself with a suicide pill hidden within one of his teeth. He hadn’t made it to the interrogation room, likely killing himself in the hopes that the rest of his gang would escape Konoha and he wouldn’t be forced to divulge any of their secrets.

Unfortunately for him, they had been captured and forced to talk. They were part of a gang originating in Kusagakure, who were intending to add the Sharingan to the collection of kekkei genkai they had already stolen. Only five members were missing from those captured, and they were swiftly apprehended at their hideout just a day outside of Konoha’s walls. They would no longer be a problem for Konoha or any other village. The missing nin were to be tried by a tribunal of representatives from all the hidden villages within the united shinobi forces.

Mizuki, however, was going to be dealt with by Konoha alone. The decision on his sentence was made swiftly. Although Iruka had spoken as a character witness for the boy he once knew, and blamed his treason on the influence of Akame Haru, it wasn’t enough to save him. Twice over Mizuki had attempted to kill Konoha citizens. If he had been an adult, he would have been sentenced to death. As it was, he was given a fifteen year sentence in a shinobi prison, where his chakra would be sealed. After his sentence lapsed, he would be up for review to see whether he was fit to rejoin society. 

Although they promised he would have access to therapy, Iruka had little hope for him, and did his best not to feel too guilty over it.

Iruka only had two visitors during his recovery. The first was, of course, Kakashi, who visited every afternoon and evening. In the afternoons, they had tea before Kakashi had to meet his father. In the evenings, Kakashi snuck through his window to lay in bed with him and whisper; Kushina and Minato had to know, but seemed to have decided not to bother them.

The second was Anko, who appeared at his doorstep looking more contrite than he had ever seen her, with a small basket of peaches (Iruka’s favorite) tucked beneath her arm. Kushina and Naruto were having nap time when she arrived, so Iruka was the one to answer the door. He made a shushing gesture with one finger when she tried to speak. He slid on his sandals and walked out into the garden with her.

“I heard about Mizuki,” Anko blurted. Iruka looked over at her, hands tucked into the pockets of his lounge pants.

“What did you hear?”

She looked down and Iruka took a moment to really look at her; she had a faint tan, like she’d spent the summer in the sun. There was a cut on her cheek, held together by little butterfly bandages. He let out a huff of a laugh; Anko, who had taken community taijutsu since they were children, who always showed up to school banged up, who disappeared on unknown trips every summer. Who had now unmistakable kunai callouses on her small fingers.

His laughter stopped Anko before she could speak and earned him an irritated scowl. “What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head with a small chuckle. “What did you hear about Mizuki?”

“Everything,” she said glumly. “I’ve been gone since classes let out. I didn’t know about the stuff with Naruto, and then I heard about what happened last week…” She shook her head. “And I talked to him before I left, Iruka. He told me some of the- stuff he’d been doing.”

Iruka felt like he’d been drenched in cold water, and he looked away quickly. “Yeah?”

“I stopped talking to him. I wanted to talk to you, but- you were always with Hatake. And he’s a little, ya know.”

Iruka looked at her again, blinking. “What?”

“You know he’s scary, right?” She made a face at him. “Seriously, I know you know what he can do now.”

“He’s not scary.” Iruka shook his head, smiling despite her obvious confusion. “But, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay.” She sighed and let the Kakashi thing go. “I hung out with you guys all the time. I should have known what he was doing.”

“Anko.” Iruka put his hands firmly on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. His new skin tingled, still very sensitive. He gave her a shake. “It’s over. Let’s forget it, okay?”

Anko blinked at him, then grinned widely. “Deal. In that case…” She leaned closer, eyes glinting mischievously. “How’s Not-Scary Hatake in bed?”

“Anko!”

\---

It wasn’t until the following Saturday that Iruka was granted permission to go out with his friends. Minato and Kushina made him promise that he was feeling better, and promise that he would be home by curfew, and promise to be careful before they let him past the threshold.

It was a welcome relief to be able to join his friends at their favorite dango shop. When Ebisu attempted to ask him a question about what had happened as soon as he sat down, Genma slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Kakashi already told us,” Genma said to Iruka, chewing lazily on an empty dango skewer. “We’re all very proud of you. And we don’t need to hear anything else about it.” He cut Ebisu a look, and the other boy slumped, flushed red with embarrassment.

The evening passed in a haze of happy conversation. Iruka finally felt the last of his tension leave him as the evening progressed. Every joke, laugh, and smile seemed to physically lift the weight from his shoulders.

His friends slowly began filtering out as night fell. First it was Gai, who made him promise to go on a run with him the next weekend. Ebisu followed at his heels. Shortly after, Genma and Raidou departed. Genma gave Iruka a loose one armed hug as they said their goodbyes, whispering into his ear, “We really are proud of you, Iruka.” Iruka noticed Raidou take Genma’s hand as they stepped through the noren that divided the open-air shop from the street.

When it was just Kakashi, Iruka, Obito and Rin at the table, the mood mellowed out. They continued chatting for a while, before Obito interrupted sheepishly.

“By the way, Iruka-kun… I really did want to thank you.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Obito-kun, please-”

“You’re a good friend,” Obito interrupted, a bright smile cutting across his face. “I’m really glad I met you.”

Iruka blushed, heat spreading under the collar of his soft t-shirt. Kakashi’s hand squeezed his knee gently under the table. “I’m really glad I met you,” he said quietly. He looked at Rin, who was smiling at him sweetly, chin resting in the cradle of her hand. “And you.”

“I’m happy to know you, Iruka-kun,” she said, reaching over the table to squeeze his hand. “Thank you for letting us.”

Iruka looked at Kakashi, heart fluttering wildly in his chest as he met his warm gaze. “Kakashi-kun-”

“It’s an honor to know you,” Kakashi murmured, and squeezed his knee again. Iruka pressed a hand to his chest, looking around the table at them. He had never felt quite so welcome, or quite so seen. All three of them had changed his life in an exquisite way, and somehow he truly belonged here with them.

“Thank you,” he said softly, more grateful than he could truly express.

\---

When they left the dango shop, he and Kakashi wandered the streets together. They chatted amicably on and off about nothing in particular, enjoying the cool end-of-summer night. Far too soon, Iruka found them standing at his door. They both stood on the stoop, facing each other, and didn’t say a word, the silence hanging around them thick and electric. Finally, they spoke at the same moment.

“Kakashi-”

“Iruka-”

They blinked at each other, and Kakashi’s eyes curved up when Iruka laughed. Iruka reached out and took one of his hands in both of his, squeezing it happily. He felt like he was floating, a quiet joy filling the spaces that had been packed with fear and doubt.

“What were you going to say?” Iruka tilted his head, grinning up at him.

“What were _you_ going to say?” Kakashi tossed back, tone teasing.

Iruka rolled his eyes, a happy blush rising in his cheeks. “You first!”

“No.” Kakashi’s eyes sparkled, openly amused. “You.”

“You’re being childish,” Iruka chastised.

“Nuh-uh,” Kakashi said seriously. It made Iruka laugh again, and he let himself lean into Kakashi, knowing without a doubt that he wouldn’t mind. Kakashi’s hand that wasn’t being held captive rested against Iruka’s waist.

“Fine!” He leaned back again, looking up at him. “I’ll go first.”

“Are you sure?” Kakashi arched a brow.

“I like you,” Iruka said simply.

Kakashi blinked, eyes widening a bit. “Why, Iruka-kun. That’s very-”

“Forward of me?” Iruka guessed, flashing him a grin. He was pleased to see a faint blush above Kakashi’s mask.

“Well- yes,” Kakashi finished lamely.

“I guess you're right.” Iruka shrugged, looking down at the hand he was holding. He skated his fingers gently along the backs of Kakashi’s, hiding a smile. “Does that offend you?”

“No.” Kakashi huffed a laugh, and Iruka looked back up at him. Kakashi was watching him with warm eyes. The hand on his waist that had been rubbing warm lines up and down his side stilled. “No, it certainly doesn’t offend me. And I hope it doesn’t offend you to know that I feel the same.”

“No, that doesn’t offend me,” Iruka said. It felt like a swarm of butterflies had been released within his chest. “I find that quite agreeable.”

“I’m glad we agree.” Kakashi hummed, drawing Iruka just a bit closer. “Perhaps we should make this a bit more official. For propriety’s sake.”

Iruka released his hand to curl his fingers into the front of Kakashi’s shirt instead, nodding. “I think that’s only logical, at this juncture,” he agreed seriously, biting back a grin.

“Very well.” Kakashi’s other hand slid around his back too, drawing a burning line up his spine. “What are your terms, Umino-san?”

Iruka reached a hand up, drawing down Kakashi’s mask. He leaned in, pressing into a slow kiss that Kakashi immediately returned. When Iruka pulled away, he didn’t go too far, stretching up onto his toes a bit to press their foreheads together. “Please, Kakashi.” He smiled, sliding his hands around Kakashi’s shoulders. “If you’re going to date me, there’s no need to be so formal.”

“As you wish, Iruka.” Kakashi grinned, lopsided.

Iruka grinned back, and kissed him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why yes i did just entirely make up how i wanted barrier jutsu to work in this universe. if naruto can fix the world with the power of friendship, iruka can stubborn his way into an impossible jutsu.
> 
> i really hope everyone is happy with how this fic concluded. i loved writing this, i love these characters, and i'm excited to explore them more in the future.
> 
> if there's something in this universe you didn't see, but want to, let me know on tumblr at [noodletastic](https://noodletastic.tumblr.com) and maybe i can fill in the blanks.
> 
> thanks for reading!


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